Retail sales point to growing consumption power

Retail sales of consumer goods in China grew to 19.5 trillion yuan ($2.83 trillion) in the first half of this year, a positive sign showing the country's increasing consumption power despite headwinds, official data showed on Monday.

The increase of 8.4 percent year-on-year in retail sales is good news in the face of "a complex economic situation with increasing external uncertainties and new downward pressure", according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The figures from the NBS revealed that online sales occupied nearly 25 percent of overall retail sales and totaled 4.8 trillion yuan in the first six months.