China's retail sales up 5.5 pct in Jan-Feb

BEIJING, March 18 (Xinhua) -- China's retail sales of consumer goods, a major indicator of the country's consumption strength, climbed 5.5 percent year on year in the first two months of 2024, official data showed Monday.

The growth was compared with an increase of 3.5 percent registered during the January-February period of 2023.

Retail sales in the country's urban regions rose 5.5 percent year on year during the period, while that in rural areas expanded 5.8 percent, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Online retail sales jumped 15.3 percent year on year, with online retail sales of physical goods expanding 14.4 percent and accounting for 22.4 percent of the total retail sales of consumer goods.

Retail sales of services went up 12.3 percent year on year during the January-February period, the NBS data revealed.

China vowed to expand domestic demand and promote sound economic flows, while promoting steady growth in consumer spending this year, according to the government work report.

NBS spokesperson Liu Aihua told a press conference that the country's continued economic recovery and steady income growth would create favorable conditions for expanding consumer spending. The government would strive to foster new forms of consumption including digital, environmentally friendly and health-related consumption, while stabilizing and expanding conventional consumption patterns, she said.

Other indicators unveiled Monday demonstrated that the country's economic performance continued to improve in the first two months of the year.

The value-added industrial output rose 7 percent year on year during the January-February period, accelerating from a rise of 6.8 percent registered in December 2023. Fixed-asset investment grew 4.2 percent year on year, quickening from an increase of 3 percent recorded in 2023.

Despite a complex and grave environment for economic development, "China has conditions and support to achieve its full-year growth target of around 5 percent for 2024 through enhanced efforts," Liu said.