First quarter data an encouraging sign

Editor's note: China's 6.7 percent GDP growth rate in the first quarter of this year may be the lowest since 2009, but it also suggests the second-largest economy is firmly moving toward sustainable growth. Following are some media outlets' interpretations of the first-quarter data:

Xinhuanet.com:

Despite being slightly lower than the growth rate of the fourth quarter of last year, the 6.7 percent GDP growth is still within the 6.5 to 6.7 percent growth range set by the central government for 2016. Perhaps because of the emerging positive signals, the International Monetary Fund recently raised its forecast for China's growth in the next two years by 0.2 percentage points, compared with its lowered growth forecast for many other economies.