BEIJING, July 15 (Xinhua) -- China's retail sales of consumer goods, a major indicator of the country's consumption strength, expanded 5 percent year on year in the first half of this year, official data showed Tuesday.

The pace is 0.4 percentage points faster than the growth recorded in the first quarter, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

In the first six months, China's total retail sales of consumer goods reached about 24.55 trillion yuan (about 3.43 trillion U.S. dollars), the NBS data showed.

Driven by a series of policies aimed at promoting consumption and expanding domestic demand, China's consumer market sustained sound momentum of growth in the first half of the year, Sheng Laiyun, deputy head of the NBS, told a press conference.

Retail sales in the country's urban regions rose 5 percent year on year in the first half of 2025, while those in rural areas expanded 4.9 percent. Online retail sales went up 8.5 percent year on year.

Backed by the government's consumer goods trade-in program, retail sales of home appliances and audiovisual equipment surged 30.7 percent year on year in the January-June period, and sales of cultural and office goods jumped by 25.4 percent.

In June alone, China's retail sales of consumer goods increased by 4.8 percent year on year.

Tuesday's data also showed that China's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 5.3 percent year on year in the first half of 2025.

Domestic demand contributed 68.8 percent to GDP growth, with final consumption expenditure contributing 52 percent, serving as the main driver of economic growth, Sheng said.

He noted that policies to promote consumption will be further strengthened in the second half of the year. ■