China's economy continued to recover in August from the damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic as key economic data pointed to a stabilizing trend, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday.

China's industrial output expanded by 5.6 percent on a yearly basis in August, faster than the growth rate of the previous month by 0.8 percentage point.

The country's retail sales returned to growth for the first time this year, rising 0.5 percent year-on-year in August, according to the NBS.

Fixed-asset investment including those in manufacturing, infrastructure and property sectors grew by 4.18 percent in August from the previous month. From January to August, fixed-asset investment fell by 0.3 percent year-on-year, narrowing from the 1.6 percent drop in the first seven months.