China's economy grew by 9.6 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2011, the National Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday.

China's GDP growth rate slows to 9.5 percent in the second quarter of 2011 from the 9.7 percent growth posted in the first quarter.

China's fixed asset investment rose 25.6 percent year-on-year to 12.4567 trillion yuan (1.925 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first half.

In June, fixed asset investment fell 1.04 percent from May.

Investment in the nation's property sector rose 32.9 percent year-on-year to reach 2.63 trillion yuan -- of which 1.86 trillion yuan went into residential housing, an increase of 36.1 percent from the same period last year.

China's retail sales of consumer goods rose 16.8 percent year-on-year in the first half of this year.

In the first half of this year, the consumer price index (CPI), the main gauge of inflation, rose 5.4 percent year-on-year.