Retail sales in China accelerated slightly in the first two months of the year, government data showed on Monday.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) offered some positive signs, showing retail sales – a key measure of consumer sentiment – increased four percent year-on-year during January and February combined.

The NBS said total retail sales of consumer goods reached over 8.37 trillion yuan for the period.

Retail sales climbed by 3.7 percent in December.

"Generally speaking, in the first two months, with the sustained effects of macro policies, the national economy maintained the new and positive development," the NBS said in a statement.

But, the statement warned "domestic effective demand is weak, [and] some enterprises face difficulties in production and operation".

"The foundation for sustained economic recovery and growth is not strong enough," it said.

Industrial production in January and February increased 5.9 percent year-on-year, data showed, slowing from the 6.2 percent growth in December.

The statistics authorities combine many economic indicators for the first two months of the year to account for potential distortions caused by the annual Lunar New Year holiday.

Meanwhile, the surveyed urban unemployment rate – China's main metric for measuring unemployment – in February ticked up to 5.4 percent, the NBS said, up 0.2 percentage points from the previous month.

Beijing announced earlier this month that it is targeting GDP growth of five percent this year.

Faced with an intensified trade war under US President Donald Trump, the nation’s officials are looking to boost domestic consumption to reduce reliance on exports. (AFP/Xinhua)