China's retail¹ sales of consumer goods held steady in the first two months of the year, with strong growth in online sales and the catering² sector³, official data showed Thursday.

 

2019年一二月中国日用消费品零售额保持稳定，在线销售和餐饮业增长强势。

 

The indicator⁴ of consumption rose 8.2 percent year on year in the first two months of the year, flat with that in December, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

 

After deducting⁵ price factors, the indicator grew 7.1 percent in real terms, accelerating from December's 6.6-percent rise, NBS spokesperson Mao Shengyong said at a press conference.

 

Thursday's data also showed consumption in rural areas climbed 9.1 percent, outpacing a rise of 8 percent in urban regions. The catering industry reported a 9.7-percent increase in revenue.

 

Online retail sales maintained robust⁶ growth, up 13.6 percent in the first two months, with physical commodity sales surging 19.5 percent from one year earlier.

 

With a market of nearly 1.4 billion increasingly prosperous population, China strives to make consumption a major driver of its economic growth.

 

Consumption contributed 76.2 percent to the country's GDP growth last year. Retail sales rose 9 percent from one year earlier to 38.1 trillion yuan (about 5.7 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2018.

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