BEIJING, July 17 (Xinhua) -- China's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 10.4 percent to 13.06 trillion yuan (1.9 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first half over the same period last year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Thursday.

    The growth rate was 1.8 percentage points lower than the same period of last year, or 0.2 percentage points lower than the first quarter of this year.

    The bureau's chief economist Yao Jingyuan said the double-digit GDP growth indicated China's economy was still growing at a steady and relatively fast pace.

    "The cooling of GDP growth indicated the government's macro-economic policy to prevent the economy from going overheated has paid off," said Yao. The slowing world economy and weaker demand on international markets also adversely affected the Chinese economy.

    According to the bureau, the GDP included 1.18 trillion yuan generated by the primary sector, up 3.5 percent, 6.74 trillion yuan by the secondary sector, up 11.3 percent, and 5.14 trillion yuan by the tertiary sector, up 10.5 percent. The growth rates were 0.5 percentage points, 2.4 percentage points, and 1.6 percentage points, respectively, lower than the first half last year.