(Yicai Global) July 30 -- China's e-commerce sales increased in the first half despite the Covid-19 pandemic.

Online retail sales widened by 7.3 percent to CNY5.15 trillion (USD735.4 billion) from a year ago as e-commerce played an important role in the country's fight against the epidemic, commerce ministry spokesman Gao Feng said at a press conference today.

Online sales of physical goods climbed 14.3 percent to CNY4.35 trillion, making up a quarter of the country's total retail sales, rising nearly 6 percentage points from a year earlier, Gao added.

The number of online shoppers increased by 100 million over the same period, he said, without revealing the total tally.

Editor: Emmi Laine