Stabilizing still urged as GDP beats forecasts in Q1

China's economy grew at a faster-than-expected 6.4 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, matching the rate from the fourth quarter of last year, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday.

Economists said that upbeat readings that were issued bode well for the country to achieve its GDP growth target for the year of between 6 and 6.5 percent, but they cautioned that authorities need to take more measures to ensure that the stable growth trend will be sustained.

China's industrial output was up in the first quarter by 6.5 percent year-on-year, compared with 5.7 percent in the previous quarter, official said.