Liu Aihua, right, a spokeswoman for the National Bureau of Statistics shares information on the national economy for the first two months of 2021 on March 15 in Beijing. [Photo by Zhu Xingxin/chinadaily.com.cn]

China's economy continued to recover in the first two months of the year, with major economic indicators surging from last year's low comparison base, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday.

After deducting the base effect, major indicators grew steadily, with the economy performing within the reasonable range, the NBS said.

The country's industrial output rose by 35.1 percent year-on-year in the January-February period, compared with 7.3 percent in December, the NBS said.

Retail sales grew by 33.8 percent in the first two months on a yearly basis, compared with 4.6 percent in December, the bureau said.

Fixed-asset investment rose by 35.0 percent year-on-year in the January-February period, up from 2.9 percent for the whole year of 2020.

The surveyed urban jobless rate came in at 5.4 percent in January and 5.5 percent in February, versus the government's annual control target of 5.5 percent, the bureau said.

Despite improvements, the NBS said the Chinese economy still faces multiple challenges including the lingering uncertainties surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and global economic situation.

Domestically, the recovery has remained unbalanced and the foundation of recovery is "not yet solid", the bureau said in a statement.

Source: China Daily