China’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 6.6 percent in 2018 to over 90 trillion yuan ($13.7 trillion), beating the official target of around 6.5 percent, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Jan 21.

The rate compared with last year’s 6.8 percent growth and is the slowest in nearly three decades.

However, Ning Jizhe, Director of the NBS said at a press briefing on China’s economic performance for the year that although the world’s second-largest economy is facing increased downward pressure, the country’s economy is sustaining the momentum of progress.

China’s economy has performed within a reasonable range in 2018, with economic growth being generally stable and improvement achieved in performance, he said.

Contributing to nearly 30 percent of the world’s economic growth, the country’s economy has remained the largest contributor to global economic growth, he said.

Consumption remained the major growth driver, contributing 76.2 percent to GDP growth last year. Ning said the role of consumption will be further enhanced in 2019.

And despite ongoing trade tensions with the US, China’s trade volume remained on the upswing in 2018. Exports were up over seven percent, and imports rose nearly 13 percent.

“Trade volume set a new record by topping 30 trillion yuan for the first time. The total imports and exports achieved that set goal of stable and positive development, with increased volume and optimized structure.”

Despite the growth, there are concerns over the changes amid the stable economic performance, with the external environment getting complicated and downward pressure becoming intensified, according to Ning.

He said China will continue its efforts to advancing reforms and guarding against risk, in order to realize stable, resilient, and inclusive growth.