China's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 11.9 percent in the second quarter of the year, bringing the first half growth to 11.5 percent, according to figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Thursday.

The country's GDP reached 10.68 trillion yuan (US$1.39 trillion) in the first half, with growth rate 0.5 percentage points higher from the same period of 2006.

Economic development had remained stable and fast since the beginning of the year, and the accelerated growth was mainly fueled by exports coupled with changes in domestic consumption, said NBS spokesman Li Xiaochao.

The situation that China's economic growth relied excessively on investment was changing while consumption was playing a bigger role in driving the growth, said Li, who described the changes as something "we have been expecting."

The primary, secondary and tertiary sectors reported 947 billion, 5.55 trillion and 4.18 trillion yuan in added value in the first half, with the secondary sector, including manufacturing, mining and construction, growing at the fastest year-on-year rate of 13.6 percent.

The primary sector posted a growth rate of 4.0 percent and the tertiary sector, including transport, telecommunications, catering, tourism, banking and insurance, recorded an increase of 10.6 percent.