China retail sales grew 10.1 per cent year on year in May according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

Total retail sales reached 2.42 trillion yuan, or US$396 billion, the bureau announced.

Overall for the first five months of 2015 retail sales grew 10.4 per cent.

As in recent months, retail sales growth in rural areas was stronger than in cities where a maturity is becoming apparent.

Sales in rural areas rose 11.6 per cent both in May and in the January-May period, while city growth was 9.9 per cent for the month and 10.2 per cent for the five months.