Now for a look at some key indicators of the economy. China's urban fix asset investments stood at 63 trillion yuan in 2017.

That was up 7.2 percent on year, beating expectations and unchanged from data for the first 11 months. Industrial production grew 6.2 percent on year in December. That was better than expected and higher than the 6.1 percent growth in November. Manufacturing output rose 6.6 percent for the full-year 2017, up from 6 percent in 2016. That came as retail sales retreated to 9.4 percent from 10.2 percent in November, and missed forecasts. Retail sales rose 10.2 percent for the year, compared to 10.4 percent growth in 2016. China's housing market picked up slightly in December, but property sales more than halved in 2017 as government curbs on speculation took effect. The jobless rate stayed at a low level thanks to solid GDP growth in 2017. China's survey-based jobless rate was 4.98 percent at the end of December.