China's economy made steady progress and major economic indicators picked up significantly in October, said Fu Linghui, spokesperson for China's National Bureau of Statistics, at a press conference on Friday.

In October, the total retail sales of consumer goods amounted to 4,539.6 billion yuan (about $627 billion), marking a year-on-year increase of 4.8 percent. Additionally, the total value of imports and exports of goods made 3,700.7 billion yuan (about $511 billion), indicating a year-on-year increase of 4.6 percent, Fu said.

(Cover: Cargo ships are loading and unloading in an orderly manner at Songyu container terminal in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province, November 7, 2024. /CFP)