China's Q1 GDP growth falls to 8.1%

The Chinese government has vowed to fine-tune the economy which continued on the declining trend, registering 8.1 per cent GDP growth in January-March this year, the lowest quarterly rise in nearly three years.

The Q1 growth this year was the slowest in 11 quarters and failed to match market expectations of 8.3 to 8.5 per cent, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said.

"The current economy is generally in a stable shape, but is faced with many difficulties and challenges," an official statement issued after a cabinet meeting, headed by Premier Wen Jiabao, said.

Efforts should be made to leave more room for new policies and prepare for hardships and tests, it said.

The government pledged to improve macro-regulation, enhance the demand management, and make policies more targeted, flexible and forward-looking, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted the statement as saying.

The statement came after Q1 data showed the Chinese economy slowing from 8.9 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year to 8.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2012.

The GDP growth of the second largest economy of the world showed a continued declining trend from the first quarter of the 2010 when it grew by 11.9 per cent.

According to preliminary statistics, China's GDP reached 10.7995 trillion yuan ($1.72 trillion) during the January-March 2012 period.

NBS spokesman Sheng Laiyun told a press conference that the first quarter growth rate was not low compared with other economies.