China's economy has maintained its recovery momentum as shown by major indicators upward trend during the Jan to April period, according to statistics released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday.

Industrial output and service industry posted steady growth, and consumption witnessed gradual increase as domestic demand further released. Retail sales of consumer goods, a major gauge of consumption, increased 18.4 percent in April, with catering income rising 43.8 percent, reported Xinhua Daily Telegraph citing the Bureau.

Investment in high-tech industries grew by 14.7 percent year-on-year during the Jan to April period. Online retail sales of goods increased by 10.4 percent on a yearly basis. The output of new energy vehicles rose 85.4 percent in April compared with the same period of the last year, the report said.

The country's foreign trade of goods went up 5.8 percent year-on-year in the first four months to 13.32 trillion yuan. According to the WTO's trade projections, specifically the "Global Trade Outlook and Statistics", which was released on April 5, the volume of world merchandise trade is expected to grow by 1.7 percent this year.

It said the relaxation of China's COVID response measures is expected to unleash pent-up consumer demand in China, which could provide a boost to international trade, particularly in travel-related services.

In addition, the reopening of China's borders in early January 2023 is expected to boost regional and global travel. Over recent years, China ranked as the largest tourism outbound market and spender, it added.

The country's surveyed unemployment rate also dropped for two consecutive months in April to 5.2 percent, statistics showed. According to Fu Linghui, spokesman of the NBS, the employment situation is expected to remain stable on a whole as the country's economy continues to recover, especially for the service sector.

The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and other international organizations and institutions have all raised their forecasts for China's economic growth this year.

Consumption recovery is expected to continue and sustain a sound economic recovery. The overall improvement in the employment situation and the stabilization and recovery of consumption and the service sector are expected to provide important support for a stronger economy in the second quarter, Fu said.