China is seeing signs of economic recovery amid its fight against the novel coronavirus pneumonia outbreak, according to the country's top economic regulator.

The foreign trade of Northern China's Shanxi province fell slightly by 0.2 percent to 26.45 billion yuan ($3.74 billion) in the first quarter (Q1) this year, local authorities said.

Beijing Customs said Thursday that its imports and exports in the first quarter of this year totaled 625.42 billion yuan (about $88.34 billion), down 6.2 percent from the same period last year.

New home sales are recovering faster than expected in China.

As a province that used to rely heavily on coal mining, Shanxi in North China is now diversifying its economy through industrial reform.

China steel sector slows growth due to coronavirus outbreak.

China's major coal producer Yanzhou Coal Mining Co., Ltd. said Thursday that its net profit saw a 9.6 percent rise in 2019.

China is expected to see its weakened demand for steel forge a strong recovery in the second quarter as the country's infrastructure investment and production resumption gains more momentum, the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) said Wednesday.