The mining sector grew by a modest 1.6 percent year on year, lagging behind the 7-percent growth achieved by the manufacturing sector.
Amid the drive to restructure and optimize industry, the country aims to reduce overcapacity in traditional sectors such as coal, iron, and steel while facilitating growth in emerging areas.
China plans to cut 30 million tonnes of ineffective steel capacity and 150 million tonnes of coal capacity in 2018, according to a government work report released earlier this month.
Wednesday's data also showed that consumers in China tend to spend more on high-quality goods, a trend that is in line with the country's overall consumption upgrade.
One of the main contributors to retail sales growth was automobile sales. While the total volume of sales only saw modest climb, the average sales price jumped, indicating that the demand for cars is more quality-oriented, according to Mao.
"China's economy has maintained a stable and sound momentum. Such momentum will lay a solid foundation for the economy to achieve its annual growth and employment target," Mao said.
China aims to see economic expansion at around 6.5 percent this year, unchanged from 2017, according to the government work report.
It also planned to keep the surveyed urban unemployment rate within 5.5 percent, the first time the country has used this indicator as a projected target.
In the first two months, the urban unemployment rate was below 5 percent, lower than the same period last year, NBS data showed.
【国内英语资讯:Economic Watch: Chinas economy kicks off 2018 on forecast-beating data】相关文章:
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