Preliminary figures suggest that the country's gross domestic product (GDP) reached 2.356 trillion yuan (US$283.9 billion) during the January-March period, Yao told a Beijing press conference.

It was the fastest first quarter growth since 1997 and 2.3 percentage points higher than that in 2002, he said.

The good performance in the first quarter of 2003 was a continuation of the sustained, rapid and healthy economic development last year, Yao said.

Cars and houses are becoming "hot consumption items," he said. During the January-March period, sales of commodity housing rose year-on-year by 52.7 percent, while sales of automobiles rose a year-on-year 99 percent.

"The strong economic growth was a result of the central government's efforts to boost domestic demand," Yao said.

The government has carried out a pro-active fiscal policy and a sound monetary policy over the past five years, he said.

The good economic performance was also a result of the positive impact of the country's accession to the World Trade Organization, he said.

China's economy has entered a new period of accelerated development, Yao said, noting that industrial growth had increased by 17.2 percent to 834.3 billion yuan (US$100.5 billion), 6.3 percentage points faster than the same period last year.

Fixed asset investment stood at 615.5 billion yuan (US$74.2 billion), up 27.8 percent from the same period last year and 8.2 percentage points higher than the first quarter in 2002.

Retail sales rose year-on-year by 9.2 percent to 1.11 trillion yuan (US$133.8 billion).

The consumer price index rose 0.5 percent in the first three months, the first positive growth since November 2001.

However, Yao said some problems still exist.

The development of some industries is too fast, while in other industries the relationship between supply and demand is too tight, he said.

Also, rural consumption level is still too low, he said.

(China Daily April 18, 2003)