China's GDP rises 2.5% year-on-year in H1

China's economy grew by 0.4 percent in the second quarter of 2022 compared with a year earlier to post a 2.5 percent growth in the first half of the year, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Friday.

Figures released by the NBS showed value-added industrial output, a gauge of activity in the manufacturing, mining and utilities sectors, grew by 3.9 percent in June from a year earlier after a 0.7 percent rise in May.

In the first half of the year, value-added industrial output grew by 3.4 percent compared to the same period last year, while in the second quarter, it rose by 0.7 percent from a year earlier.

Retail sales, a key measurement of consumer spending, grew by 3.1 percent year-on-year in June, from the 6.7 percent decline in May.

In the first half of the year, retail sales fell by 0.7 percent compared to the same period last year, while in the second quarter, they declined 4.6 percent from a year earlier.

Fixed-asset investment – a gauge of expenditures on items including infrastructure, property, machinery and equipment – rose by 5.6 percent in June, up from 4.6 percent in May.

In the January-June period, fixed-asset investment grew by 6.1 percent compared with a year earlier, while in the second quarter, it jumped 4.2 percent year-on-year.

The surveyed urban jobless rate came in at 5.5 percent in June from 5.9 percent in May, according to the NBS.

The NBS said China's economy is gradually recovering from recent shocks as a series of policies on stabilizing the economy took effect.

More efforts will be made to implement a package of stimulus policy measures and keep the economic operation within a reasonable range.