Retailers in China saw sales grow 12.1 per cent year-on-year from January to June.

According to the data from National Bureau of Statistics, retail sales in China during the first half totalled 12.42 trillion yuan (US$2.02 trillion). Online retail sales increased 56.3 per cent to 181.9 billion yuan.

During the six months, retail sales of consumer goods in urban areas was 10.7 trillion yuan, up 12 per cent year-on-year and those in rural areas totalled 1.7 trillion yuan, up 13.2 per cent.

In the same period, the catering services increased 10.1 per cent year on year to 1.3 billion yuan.