China's gross domestic product expanded 6.9 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2017 to about 38.15 trillion yuan (5.62 trillion US dollars), China's National Bureau of Statistics said on July 17.

SCIO holds a press conference on China's economic performance in the first half of 2017 on July 17. [Photo/China SCIO]

China's value-added industrial output expanded 6.9 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2017, compared with a 6.8-percent increase in the first quarter.

Investment in property development expanded 8.5 percent year-on-year for the first half of 2017, 0.6 percentage points lower than the first quarter.

GDP growth in the second quarter remained unchanged from the first quarter, at 6.9 percent.

During a meeting with business leaders on July 6, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang noted that the country's economic growth continues to be within reasonable range, and that major economic indicators stabilized in the first six months of the year.