The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's non-manufacturing sector came in at 54.2 in July, down from 54.4 in June, a sign of sustained economic recovery and improved business activities in the country, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Friday.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below it reflects contraction.

The non-manufacturing PMI has remained above 50 for five months in a row, data from the NBS showed.

In July, the service sector continued its recovering momentum, with the sub-index for business activities standing at 53.1, while the business expectation reading for the sector ticked up 2.4 points from the previous month to 61.4.

In breakdown, the express delivery, accommodation and catering, telecommunications as well as securities sectors logged more vibrant business activities in July, with their sub-indexes all registering expansion from last month.

In particular, the sub-indexes for the business activities of resident services as well as culture, sports and entertainment ended a five-month contraction streak in July to rise 1.9 and 6.1 points, respectively, both standing above the 50-point mark.

The accelerated restoration of the service sector was a result of local governments' pro-consumption policies that aimed to mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 epidemic, said NBS senior statistician Zhao Qinghe.

The sub-index for the construction sector's activity rallied to 60.5 in July from 59.8 in June, returning to a relatively high expansion level.

The relatively fast growth of the construction industry was driven by infrastructure construction projects, Zhao said.

The sub-index for new orders edged down 1.2 points to 51.5 percent in July, but still stayed in the expansion zone, indicating that demand in the non-manufacturing market continued to recover.

Friday's data also showed the PMI of China's manufacturing sector rose to 51.1 in July from 50.9 in June.