Photo taken on July 2, 2022 shows the view of a commercial street in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)

China's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 2.5 percent year on year in the first half of 2022, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Friday.

In the second quarter (Q2), the country's GDP grew 0.4 percent year on year, the NBS data showed.

Chinese economy faced marked increases of downward pressure in Q2 due to a complex global environment and domestic COVID-19 resurgences, with steep falls of major economic indicators in April. Thanks to a slew of supportive policies, the country's major economic indicators saw narrowed declines in May and rebounds in June, helping achieve a positive Q2 growth.

"The economic growth didn't come by easily," the NBS said in a statement.