The Chinese economy grew 6.9 percent in 2015, the slowest rate in 25 years, the National Bureau of Statistics of China announced on Tuesday.

Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua reported that despite the slower growth the pace was “within the target of about 7 percent” set by the Government and underscored “the Government’s sophisticated insight and management of economic performance”.

The service sector accounted for 50.5 percent of China’s gross domestic product (GDP) last year, said the statistics bureau. It is the first time the service sector has contributed more than half of the country’s GDP, showing that economic restructuring in China “has made progress”, the bureau added.

In the fourth quarter of 2015, the Chinese economy expanded 6.8 percent, the weakest quarterly growth since the global economic crisis in 2009.

Wang Baoan, Director of the National Bureau of Statistics of China, told a media briefing on Tuesday the Government is “confident” economic growth would remain stable this year.