China's retail sales of consumer goods, a major indicator of consumption growth, hit 44.08 trillion yuan (about 6.93 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2021, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Monday.

Sales of consumer goods rose 12.5 percent year on year in 2021, NBS data showed, putting the average annual growth for the past two years at 3.9 percent.

In December, the total retail sales of consumer goods grew by 1.7 percent year on year, according to the data.

It is a milestone for consumption to reach 44 trillion yuan, NBS head Ning Jizhe said, adding that the final consumption has contributed 65.4 percent to China's 2021 economic growth, which shows the important role of the domestic market.

Retail sales in urban areas reached 38.16 trillion yuan last year, up 12.5 percent year on year, while those in rural areas increased 12.1 percent year on year.

In 2021, China's online retail sales continued to show robust expansion and topped 13 trillion yuan, up 14.1 percent year on year, the data showed.