BEIJING, Jan. 11 -- China has remained the world's largest online retail market for 11 consecutive years, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Thursday.

China's e-commerce transaction volume totaled 43.83 trillion yuan (about 6.17 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2022, up from 31.63 trillion yuan in 2018, MOC spokesperson Shu Jueting told a press conference.

Shu said that online retail sales of physical commodities accounted for over 25 percent of the country's total retail sales of consumer goods, adding that the e-commerce sector has become a new engine for digital transformation.

Over the past five years, the number of people working in the e-commerce sector in China has surged from 47 million to more than 70 million, while its Silk Road e-commerce cooperation has extended to 30 countries, according to the ministry.