BEIJING - China's road freight transport continued to expand in the first seven months of 2018, the Ministry of Transport said Sunday.

From January to July, the amount of cargo carried on roads, which takes up the lion's share in China's total cargo transport, increased 7.5 percent year-on-year to 21.38 billion tons, the ministry said in a statement.

In July alone, road cargo traffic rose 6.4 percent to 3.4 billion tons, the statement said.

The growth came amid China's steady economic growth, which stood at 6.8 percent in the first half of 2018, well above the government's annual growth target of around 6.5 percent.

In the first seven months, the amount of cargo transported by water edged up 2.6 percent to 3.86 billion tons, according to the ministry.