(MENAFN- Qatar News Agency) ijing April 16 - China's economy grew 7.4% year on year in the first quarter of 2014 the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed on Wednesday. The NBS said that preliminary data showed the nation's gross domestic product (GDP) reached 12.8213 trillion yuan (2.08 trillion US dollars) in the first quarter. The figures suggest growth in the world's second-largest economy in the beginning of year 2014 was stable and that the economy was generally in good health as Chinese authorities promoted reforms innovation restructuring and improvement of people's well-being according to the NBS. The first-quarter growth exceeded market estimates of 7.3%. However it slowed compared to the 7.7% growth in the fourth quarter of 2013 and marked the lowest quarterly growth level since the third quarter of 2012. But even so the figure still far outperformed the 6.6% growth in the first quarter of 2009 when the global financial crisis wreaked havoc. Economists said the weaker growth suggested heavier downward pressure on the economy but that the growth rate was still within a reasonable range. "I predicted the first-quarter GDP growth to be between 7.2% and 7.3%. Though slower I don't think this level of growth is unbearable" (Xinhua) news agency quoted Wang Jun a senior researcher at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges as saying. Wang pointed to the significance of measures taken by authorities in March targeting tax reductions and simplification of administrative procedures as well as their plans to step up railway investment and renovation of shanty towns. "These measures aim to stabilize growth. I think the economic momentum will increase from the second quarter and there's no need to worry the economy will slide out of control" he said. Other data jointly released with the GDP figures on Wednesday showed industrial output growth slowed to 8.7% in the first quarter. During the same period fixed asset investment growth gained 17.6%; retail sales expanded 12% while the average per-capita disposable income of both urban and rural residents grew 8.6% year on year. The economic slowdown came amid a generally mild inflation rate in the first quarter with the consumer price index the main gauge of inflation rising 2.4% in March. Earlier data also showed the country's exports and imports declined 1% year on year to 965.88 billion US dollars in the first quarter while power consumption rose 5.4% year on year though the March figure picked up steam and rose 7.2%
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