BEIJING, July 1 (Xinhua) -- China's e-commerce industry continued to thrive last year despite mounting downward economic pressures and lingering trade tensions, according to a report from the Ministry of Commerce.
China led the world in e-commerce, with about 51.26 million people employed in the sector in 2019.
The country's e-commerce transactions hit 34.81 trillion yuan (about 4.9 trillion U.S. dollars) last year, with online retail sales reaching 10.63 trillion yuan, up 16.5 percent year on year.
E-commerce has contributed a lot in terms of "promoting consumption, stabilizing foreign trade, alleviating poverty, and boosting employment," and played a key role in ensuring the country's steady and high-quality development, the report said.
In 2019, online retailing contributed 45.6 percent to the growth of the country's total retail sales.
China had more than 900 million internet users at the end of last year, with an internet penetration rate of 64.5 percent, according to the report. Enditem
