China's economy expands 6.1% in 2019

Economy

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.

XinhuaUpdated: January 17, 2020

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 (US$14.38 trillion) 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.