Containers await shipping at a port in Xiamen, Fujian province. [Photo by WANG XIEYUN/CHINA DAILY]

China's economy grew by 7.9 percent in the second quarter of 2021 compared with a year earlier and posted 12.7 percent growth in the first half of the year, the National Bureau of Statistics announced on Thursday.

Thanks to Beijing's efforts in largely containing the pandemic earlier than its trading partners, the world's second-largest economic body has managed a solid economic revival, Reuters said in a Tuesday report.

It reported the growth of both China's exports and imports beat expectations in June.

China's total retail sales in the first six months of the year were 9 percent higher than the same period in 2019, also underscoring a strong post-pandemic rebound, the South China Morning Post said in a Friday report.

Industrial production grew by 8.3 percent, greater than the 7.8 percent estimate, CNBC reported on Thursday, adding the urban survey unemployment rate held steady at 5 percent in June.

"Overall, China's economy looks to be on track for recovery, with the 6 percent annual growth goal in reach," Chaoping Zhu, global market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management, said in a note to CNBC.