China's economy expands 6.1% in 2019

New energy vehicles are seen on the assembly line at Xi'an plant of BYD Auto in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, June 12, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]

China's economy grew 6.1 percent year on year in 2019, within the government's annual target of 6 to 6.5 percent, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Friday.

The reading was lower than the 6.6-percent growth registered in 2018.

Growth in the fourth quarter came in at 6 percent, the same as the growth rate in the third quarter, but lower than the 6.2-percent growth in the second quarter and the 6.4-percent growth in the first quarter, NBS data showed.

Gross domestic product (GDP) totaled 99.09 trillion yuan (14.38 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2019, with the service sector accounting for more than half of the total.

The value-added industrial output, an important economic indicator, expanded 5.7 percent year on year in 2019, slowing from 6.2 percent growth in 2018.

The fixed-asset investment increased 5.4 percent year on year in 2019, flat with the level recorded in the first three quarters.

The retail sales of consumer goods, a major indicator of consumption growth, rose 8 percent year on year in 2019.

Editor: John Li