China's economy continued its recovery in May, driven by effective macroeconomic policies, as shown by recent data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

The overall economic performance remained stable, reinforcing China's role as a key driver of global economic growth, Xinhua News Agency reported on Thursday.

The three main drivers of economic growth - consumption, investment and trade - showed robust performance.

In May, retail sales of consumer goods rose by 3.7 percent year-on-year, and the total value of imports and exports increased by 8.6 percent. Fixed-asset investment grew by 4 percent in the first five months of this year.

China's economic stabilization is supported by the maintenance of stable employment and prices. Its Consumer Price Index rose by 0.3 percent year-on-year in May, with the core CPI, excluding food and energy prices, up by 0.6 percent.

The surveyed urban unemployment rate was 5 percent, down 0.2 percentage points from the previous year, indicating a solid employment foundation.

From the performance of industries and enterprises, the trend of stability and improvement is also consolidating. In May, the added value of large industrial enterprises rose by 5.6 percent year-on-year, while the service industry production index grew by 4.8 percent, up 1.3 percentage points from the previous month.

Liu Aihua, spokeswoman for the NBS, said that despite the increasingly complex external environment and inadequate domestic demand, the fundamental trend of economic recovery and improvement remains unchanged.

China's economic momentum has strengthened, as reflected by the accelerated recovery of domestic economic drivers, which has led to increased movement of people and goods, improved economic circulation and optimized economic structure.

China continues to advance its transformation and upgrading efforts on the supply side, while on the demand side, new consumption patterns are increasingly vibrant.

In May, the added value of high-tech manufacturing grew by 10 percent year-on-year, while equipment manufacturing grew by 7.5 percent, maintaining a growth rate above the industrial average for ten consecutive months.

Smart manufacturing also performed well, with the added value of industries such as intelligent unmanned aerial vehicle manufacturing and smart in-car equipment manufacturing rising by 75 percent and 19.7 percent, respectively.

The Chinese consumer market has operated steadily with signs of improvement. Retail sales of consumer goods increased by 3.7 percent year-on-year in May, with retail sales of goods and catering revenue up by 3.6 percent and 5 percent, respectively.