China's economy on recovery path, but challenges remain

China's economy continued the recovery trend but it still faces challenges and pressures from weak demand and a complicated international environment, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday.

The NBS said more efforts should be made to consolidate the foundation for economic recovery, and the country should step up macroeconomic policy support with a key focus on expanding domestic demand, boosting confidence and preventing risks. 

Figures released by the NBS showed China's value-added industrial output, a gauge of activity in the manufacturing, mining and utilities sectors, grew by 3.7 percent in July from a year earlier after a 4.4 percent rise in June.

Retail sales, a key measurement of consumer spending, grew by 2.5 percent year-on-year in July, down from the 3.1 percent growth in June. 

In the January-July period, fixed-asset investment–a gauge of expenditures on items including infrastructure, property, machinery and equipment-grew by 3.4 percent compared with a year earlier, while in the January-June period, it jumped 3.8 percent year-on-year.

The surveyed urban jobless rate came in at 5.3 percent in July versus 5.2 percent in June, according to the NBS.

ouyangshijia@chinadaily.com.cn