BEIJING, July 15. /TASS/. China's domestic economic recovery is imbalanced, and efforts are still needed to ensure stable and sustainable development amid the pandemic, according to the report of the National Bureau of Statistics of China released on Thursday.

In the first half of the year, the national economy was continuously and steadily recovering with a sustained growth momentum, the report said. The global pandemic continues to evolve and there are many external factors of instability and uncertainty, the economic recovery within the country is unbalanced, efforts are still needed to strengthen the foundations of stable and sustainable development, the Statistics Service said.

According to the document, China will continue to strive to achieve progress while maintaining stability, better coordinate work to combat and prevent epidemics, promote social and economic development, continue to deepen structural supply reform, and focus on unlocking the potential of domestic demand.

The report also emphasized that China will step up efforts to help businesses overcome difficulties, and will further promote reform and openness.

At the end of the first half of 2021, China's GDP amounted to 53.216 trillion yuan (around $8.24 trillion at the current exchange rate), an increase of 12.7% in annual terms. In the Q1, the GDP growth rate was 18.3%, in the second - 7.9%. As local media reported earlier, Chinese analysts had expected GDP growth rates in April-June at 8%.

At the end of 2020, against the background of the negative impact of the pandemic, the GDP growth rate was the lowest since 1976, amounting to 2.3%.