BEIJING (Xinhua) -- The Chinese economy managed to maintain positive growth despite facing difficulties in the second quarter, growing by 2.5 percent year on year in the first half of this year, showing its resilience and latent potential amid headwinds.

The main economic indicators in China witnessed a sharp decline last April due to the increasingly complex and dangerous situation abroad and the resurgence of Omicron cases inside the country, which constituted a rare scene for the second largest economy in the world.

However, the downward trend was curbed after a number of measures were taken to support growth and control the latest wave of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Data released last Friday showed that the Chinese economy is increasingly firmly on the ground.

Value-added industrial output reversed its decline in May and accelerated its growth in June.

The manufacturing PMI is back in expansion range, indicating the growing confidence of manufacturers.

Consumption improved as retail sales of consumer goods rose 3.1 percent year-on-year in June, after falling year-on-year in April and May.

The recovery is expected to continue as China embarks on a path of expanding consumption, modernization and innovation.

Foreign trade has weathered an unfavorable international trade environment, overcome the impact of the epidemic on industry and supply chains, and has registered relatively rapid growth since the beginning of the year. Foreign trade of goods, in particular, jumped 9.4 percent year on year in the January-June period.

More importantly, industrial modernization is gaining momentum, fueling new growth engines for the economy.

In the first six months, the value-added output of large high-tech manufacturing firms grew 9.6 percent year on year, while investment in the high-tech industry rose 20.2 percent.

On the other hand, consumer prices rose moderately. The job market also improved, with the surveyed urban unemployment rate coming in at 5.5 percent in June, down from 5.9 percent in May.

The headwinds are evident for China, where risks of stagflation are rising for the global economy, the COVID-19 pandemic lingers, and demand contraction coupled with supply shocks at home.

But the plain fact is that the fundamentals of the Chinese economy have not changed, including its huge potential, strong resilience, and wide room for maneuver.

China will seize the sound momentum, remain confident, and forge ahead for a steady recovery of the economy.