BEIJING, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- China's economy grew 6.9 percent year on year in 2017, well above the official target of around 6.5 percent, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Thursday.

The reading was higher than the 6.7-percent growth registered in 2016, and marked the first acceleration in annual growth pace since 2010.

Growth in the fourth quarter came in at 6.8 percent, unchanged from the rate seen in the third quarter, NBS data showed.

Gross domestic product (GDP) totaled 82.71 trillion yuan (about 12.84 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2017, with the service sector accounting for more than half of the total.

Consumption was the major growth driver, contributing 58.8 percent to GDP growth last year.

The data also showed that China's industrial output expanded 6.6 percent year on year in 2017, accelerating from 6-percent growth in 2016.

Fixed-asset investment grew 7.2 percent year on year in 2017, 0.9 percentage points slower than a year earlier.

Retail sales of consumer goods grew 10.2 percent year on year in 2017, 0.2 percentage points slower than the previous year.