China's economic growth slowed
unexpectedly in the first quarter, raising concerns that a recovery that
started in the second half of last year is already losing steam.
Gross domestic product grew 7.7%
on a year-to-year basis in the first quarter, down from 7.9% in the fourth
quarter of 2012 and lower than many economists forecast, according to Chinese
official data.
Chinese fixed assets investment:
From January to March 2013, the investment in
fixed assets (excluding rural households) reached 5,809.2 billion yuan, up by
20.9 percent year-on-year in nominal terms.
Chinese industrial production up:
In March 2013, the total value added of the
industrial enterprises above designated size was up by 8.9 percent year-on-year
(the following growth rates of value added are real growth rates, after
deducting price factors), 1.0 percentage points lower than that in the first
two months of 2013.
