China's retail sales up 7.2 pct in 2023

Consumers select dairy products at a supermarket in Xinle, north China's Hebei Province, Jan. 12, 2024. (Photo by Jia Minjie/Xinhua)

BEIJING, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- China's retail sales of consumer goods, a major indicator of the country's consumption strength, climbed 7.2 percent year on year in 2023, official data showed Wednesday.

Total retail sales of consumer goods reached 47.15 trillion yuan (about 6.63 trillion U.S. dollars) last year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

In December alone, the retail sales of consumer goods rose 7.4 percent year on year, according to the NBS.