China's retail sales up 3.3 pct in Q1

China's retail sales of consumer goods, a major indicator of the country's consumption strength, went up 3.3 percent year on year in the first quarter (Q1) of this year, official data showed on Monday.

The country's retail sales of consumer goods totaled around 10.87 trillion yuan (about 1.7 trillion U.S. dollars) during this period, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

In March alone, retail sales decreased by 3.5 percent year on year.

Retail sales in urban areas reached 9.43 trillion yuan in Q1, up 3.2 percent year on year, while those in rural areas increased 3.5 percent year on year.

In Q1, retail sales of goods rose 3.6 percent from a year ago to 9.8 trillion yuan, while catering revenue hit 1.07 trillion yuan, an increase of 0.5 percent year on year.

Online consumption remained a bright spot, with online retail sales rising 6.6 percent year on year to reach about 3.01 trillion yuan in this period.

"Consumption is a steady driver of economic growth and bears on ensuring and improving people's livelihoods," according to a State Council executive meeting held last week.

The meeting decided on measures to counter the impact of COVID-19 and boost the recovery and growth of consumption.

Monday's data showed that China's gross domestic product reached 27.02 trillion yuan in Q1, up 4.8 percent year on year.