The Chinese economy maintained stable growth in November, said Mao Shengyong, spokesperson for China’s National Bureau of Statistics, on Dec 14.

According to the bureau’s latest statistics, online retail sales in the first 11 months of the year reached an impressive 643 billion yuan. That’s up 32.4 percent from the same time last year.

November’s total value of imports and exports reached 260 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 12.6 percent, achieving the highest monthly rate of the year.

“China’s economy has sustained a steady growth momentum, with sound growth in production demand, stable employment and commodity prices,” Mao said.

China’s industrial production grew by 6.1 percent, 0.1 percentage point lower than October. Output in mining decreased by 1.7 percent compared to last year, offset by increases in manufacturing by 6.8 percent and production of heat, gas and water by 4.5 percent.

A slight deceleration is also seen in urban fixed asset investment, with overall growth rising to 7.2 percent from January to November, the same period as 2016.

Private investments grew by 5.7 percent, while investments by government firms rose by 11 percent.

Property investment was down 0.3 percentage points, to 7.3 percent, from January to November. The downward trend comes on the back of government measures to curb soaring home prices.

With goals to improve the business environment and minimize risks, Mao said the government will continue reforms in reducing excessive inventory and lowering costs through measures such as new policy, tax, land management, and funding.