BEIJING (AFP) - China's economic growth hit 7.5 per cent year-on-year in April-June, official data showed Wednesday, ahead of expectations as the world's second-largest economy was boosted by government stimulus.

The second-quarter figure announced by the National Bureau of Statistics compared with growth of 7.4 per cent in the previous three months and exceeded the median forecast of 7.4 per cent in a survey of 17 economists by AFP.

"Generally speaking, China's economy showed good momentum of stable and moderate growth in the first half-year," the NBS said in a statement.

"However we should keep in mind that the domestic and international economic environment is still complicated and the national economy still faces many challenges." The NBS also said China's economy expanded 7.4 per cent in the first half of the year.

The results came after Beijing introduced a series of policies in April in response to concerns over slowing growth, including tax breaks for small enterprises, targeted infrastructure spending and the encouragement of lending in rural areas and to small companies.

Separately, the NBS said China's industrial production, which measures output at factories, workshops and mines, rose 9.2 per cent year-on-year in June.

Retail sales, a key indicator of consumer spending, increased 12.4 per cent in the same month, while fixed asset investment, a measure of government spending on infrastructure, rose 17.3 per cent on-year in the first six months.