CRI听力:China's Growth Slows to 7 Pct in Q1

Official figures show China's economic growth slowed to 7 percent in the first quarter of this year, down slightly from the 7.3 percent in the fourth quarter of last year.

First quarter GDP totalled about 14 trillion yuan or nearly 2.3 trillion U.S. dollars.

Sheng Laiyun, spokesperson of the National Bureau of Statistics, says the slowdown was expected as the Chinese government predicted continued downward pressure for the economy this year.

"The downward pressure comes from two sides. On the one hand, the global economic recovery in the post-crisis period is still sluggish. To some extent, insufficient external demand affects our exports. On the other hand, China's economy is changing gear and is going through a period of structural reforms".

The latest figure is better than the forecasts by multiple institutions that predicted the growth rate would fall slightly below 7 percent, due to weak investment and demand.

However, it is the weakest expansion since the first quarter of 2009, when the global financial crisis saw China's growth tumble to 6.6 percent.

Sheng says although downward pressure still exists, China's ecnomy still has great potential to grow at a steady pace.

"In the short term, the pattern of international adjustment and domestic economic adjustment are not going to change easily in the near future, so downward pressure is still on. But China's economy has the potential to hold steady as the momentum of transformation and upgrading remains good".