BEIJING — China's retail sales of consumer goods in November went up 3.9% year-on-year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Dec 15.

The country's retail sales of consumer goods totaled around 4.1 trillion yuan (about $644.16 billion) in November, according to the NBS.

The figure increased by 9 percent from November 2019, putting the two-year average growth at 4.4 percent, said the NBS.

In the January-November period, China's total retail sales of consumer goods stood at 39.96 trillion yuan, up 13.7 percent year-on-year.

Consumption is making a greater contribution to the country's economic growth, said NBS spokesperson Fu Linghui at a press conference.

Among the retail sectors surveyed by the NBS, online consumption remained vibrant, with online retail sales rising 15.4 percent year-on-year to reach approximately 11.87 trillion yuan in the January-November period.

In the first 11 months, online sales of physical goods expanded by 13.2 percent year-on-year, accounting for 24.5 percent of the total retail sales during the period.

The raging pandemic and the sporadic resurgence of domestic COVID-19 cases are still restricting consumption activities, Fu said, adding that effective COVID-19 control is necessary.

He, however, pointed out that stable employment, effective policies to ensure stable supplies and prices, as well as improving social security, will help sustain growth in consumption.

Fu said he is optimistic about future consumption, citing the great potential brought by the large middle-income group of over 400 million people as an important factor.