China's economy grows 5% in H1

China's GDP grew by 5 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2024 to 61.68 trillion yuan ($8.49 trillion), showcasing a steady economic rebound, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday.

In the second quarter, the economy rose by 4.7 percent in comparison to a year earlier after a 5.3 percent growth in the first quarter of the year. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, China's GDP increased by 0.7 percent in the second quarter of the year, the NBS said.

Figures released by the NBS showed China's value-added industrial output, a gauge of activity in the manufacturing, mining, and utilities sectors, grew by 5.3 percent in June from a year earlier after a 5.6 percent rise in May.

In the first half of the year, value-added industrial output grew by 6 percent compared to the same period last year, while in the first quarter, it rose by 6.1 percent from a year earlier.

Retail sales, a key measurement of consumer spending, grew by 2 percent year-on-year in June, down from the 3.7 percent growth in May.

In the first half of the year, retail sales rose by 3.7 percent compared to the same period last year, while in the first quarter, they grew by 4.7 percent from a year earlier.

In the January-June period, fixed-asset investment, a gauge of expenditures on items including infrastructure, property, machinery, and equipment, grew by 3.9 percent compared with a year earlier, while in the January-May period, it jumped 4 percent year-on-year.

The surveyed urban jobless rate came in at 5 percent in June, flat with the previous month, according to the NBS.

The NBS warned of pressures from a complicated external environment and a lack of effective domestic demand, saying more efforts should be made to consolidate the foundation for the economic recovery.