BEIJING - Despite an anemic economy, China's e-commerce trade soared in 2014 thanks to improved Internet infrastructure and an increase in cellphone users.

Transaction volume of Chinese shopping websites totaled 16.39 trillion yuan ($2.68 trillion) last year, up 59.4 percent year on year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Monday.

Third-party platforms, like China's largest shopping website Taobao.com, accounted for 44.3 percent, while self-operated stores 55.7 percent, data showed. The country's 20 biggest online websites saw aggregate transactions worth 6.22 trillion yuan, making up around 90 percent of all third-party platforms.

Chinese businesses have turned to the Internet to offload stocked goods in a bid to cut costs and increase profits against economic headwinds, while price-sensitive consumers appreciate online shopping for its convenience and a variety of choices.

NBS official Sun Qingguo said the booming Internet, especially the pervasive mobile network, created an intimate bond between buyers and shopping websites and provided ample space for the development of e-commerce.

China boasted the world's largest 4G network and 361 million online shoppers by the end of 2014.

Stellar growth in e-commerce has lifted online payment and logistics companies as well, Sun said. China overtook the United States to top the world in terms of the business volume in express delivery in 2014.

Sun predicts surging e-commerce will generate fresh consumption demand, prompt a new investment wave and encourage innovation and entrepreneurship across the country.