BEIJING - China's retail sales rose 15. 9 percent in May from a year ago, faster than the sales growth posted in April, the government said Wednesday.

Retail sales grew 15.5 percent in April compared to the same month last year.

Beijing has been seeking to boost domestic consumption to cut its reliance on exports and investment for growth.

China's retail sales for the first five months of the year totaled 3.5 trillion Chinese yuan (US$458 billion; euro343.2 billion), an increase of 15.2 percent from the same period last year, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement.

Sales grew 15.1 percent in the first four months of the year.