Retail sales show signs of China's recovering economy

China's economy showed signs of steady recovery in November as industrial production and retail sales picked up though pressures remain, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Friday.

Figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed China's value-added industrial output - a gauge of activity in the manufacturing, mining and utilities sectors - grew by 6.6 percent from a year earlier in November, up from the 4.6 percent rise in October.

Retail sales, a key measurement of consumer spending, grew by 10.1 percent year-on-year in November, up from the 7.6 percent growth in October.

In the January-November period, fixed-asset investment - a gauge of expenditures on items including infrastructure, property, machinery and equipment - grew by 2.9 percent compared with a year earlier, equal with the readings for the January-October period. 

The surveyed urban jobless rate came in at 5 percent in November, equal to figures in October, according to the NBS. 

Despite fresh signs of reviving, the NBS said the economy still faces many unstable and uncertain factors in external environments while domestic demand remains insufficient. It added that the foundation for economic recovery still needs to be consolidated. 

The country will strengthen macroeconomic regulation, and more efforts will be made to boost economic vitality, prevent and mitigate risks, improve social expectations, consolidate and promote the momentum of economic recovery, and effectively improve the quality of the economy and promote its growth within a reasonable range, according to the NBS.