Services sector grows 7.6% in first quarter

The structural rebalancing of the Chinese economy toward consumption has received a boost from the tertiary sector, which registered a 7.6 percent growth in the first quarter, way outpacing agriculture and industry.

"We saw some positive signals of economic restructuring progress in the first quarter, driven by fast development of the services sector," said Sheng Laiyun, spokesman for the National Bureau of Statistics, on Friday.

Sheng's comments came a day after data released by the National Development and Reform Commission indicated that the tertiary industry has had the fastest growth of electricity consumption, which registered a quarterly growth of 10.9 percent year-on-year.