China's GDP (gross domestic product) grew by 9.5 percent to 3.1355 trillion yuan (US$379 billion) in the first quarter of this year, and the growth rate was 0.3 percent lower than a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in Beijing Wednesday.

NBS spokesman Zheng Jingping attributed the slower growth to the enhanced macroeconomic regulation by regions and departments at various levels in line with the requirement of the central government to follow a scientific approach to development and to seek sustained and healthy economic growth.

In a breakdown, the value added of China's primary industry went up 4.6 percent year-on-year to 228.7 billion yuan (US$27.6 billion), while that of the secondary industry went up 11.3 percent to 1.84 trillion yuan (US$222 billion).

Meanwhile, the value added of the tertiary industry had a year-on-year growth of 7.6 percent to reach 1.07 trillion yuan (US$129.4 billion).

All these figures showed that China's economy had kept the momentum of stable and rapid growth on the whole, Zheng said.

(Xinhua News Agency April 20, 2005)