BEIJING, July 12 -- China's economy maintained steady improvement in the first half of the year (H1), with consumption continuing to recover and high-tech industries gathering momentum, according to data released by the State Information Center (SIC) under the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic planner.

Consumer activity continued to recover during the first six months, as the index tracking offline consumption payments rose 2.7 percent year on year, while foot traffic at brick-and-mortar shopping districts increased 5.7 percent, according to the SIC.

Data showed the country's spending on electronic products climbed 9.5 percent during the period, while transportation and catering spending related to cultural and tourism activities increased 6.1 percent and 4.9 percent, respectively.

Xing Yuguan, a researcher with the SIC, attributed the recovery to a package of policies to boost domestic demand and consumption, along with improving supply and demand conditions that supported strong growth in cultural, tourism and smart consumption.

The data also highlighted growing momentum in high-tech sectors. Investment in frontier fields such as artificial intelligence and humanoid robots surged 118.4 percent year on year in H1, while the value of winning bids for digital infrastructure projects, including computing power, increased 23 percent.

Industrial activity and innovation also remained resilient. The production activity index for industrial parks rose 3.9 percent year on year during the period, while patent authorizations related to strategic emerging industries increased 15.6 percent.