In this undated photo, a customer tries out cosmetics at a duty-free shop in Sanya, Hainan province. (WU WEI / CHINA DAILY)

BEIJING - China's consumption continued a solid recovery momentum in July with warm-up signs in multiple sectors, according to the Ministry of Commerce (MOC).

China's retail sales of consumer goods totaled 3.5 trillion yuan (about US$540 billion) in July, up 8.5 percent year on year, a 7.2-percent growth from the level in July 2019, the MOC said.

Consumption of daily necessities logged faster growth while the sales of building materials and furniture both saw double-digit gains, it added.

The MOC also said mid-to-high-end consumption demand was further unleashed as service consumption recovered steadily. 

In July, revenue of the catering sector came in at 375.1 billion yuan, up 14.3 percent year on year, according to the MOC.

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New types of consumption registered rapid growth in July. Business volume of the express delivery sector reached 58.33 billion pieces, up 42.9 percent year on year, exceeding the volume for the whole of 2018. Some 271,000 new energy vehicles were sold last month, up 1.6 times year on year, accounting for 14.5 percent of total auto sales. 

The MOC added that offshore duty-free sales in China's southern island province of Hainan went up 44 percent year on year last month, while some department stores and outlets in Beijing and Shanghai saw their sales surge over 20 percent.