BEIJING, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- The performance of China's shopping centers improved in the second quarter this year amid fierce competition from online shopping platforms, a new index showed.

The China Shopping Center Development Index rose 1.3 points year-on-year to 66.1 in the second quarter, showing sound market vitality in the sector, according to a Ministry of Commerce report.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while below 50 represents contraction.

The index in the second quarter was 1.4 points lower than the first quarter, according to the report.

In the second quarter, the sub-index for the current situation dropped 2.5 points to 61.9, while the sub-index for future expectations rose 0.3 points to 72.4, when compared with the first quarter.

First-tier cities saw higher development indexes on both a yearly and quarterly basis.

Meanwhile, China's convenience store business index stood at 70.25.