China's economy expands 6.9 pct in 2017, beats forecasts

A bullet train runs in Qionghai City, south China's Hainan Province, Jan. 18, 2018. Gross domestic product (GDP) of China totaled 82.71 trillion yuan (about 12.84 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2017 with a 6.9 percent year-on-year rise, higher than the 6.7 percent growth registered in 2016, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed. (Xinhua/Meng Zhongde)