China's economic growth slows down to 8.1%

Beijing, April 13 (ANI): The economic growth of China slowed down to 8.1 percent in the first quarter of 2012, as a slowdown in exports and real-estate investment complicated its efforts to guide the economy to progress.

China had expected a growth rate of 8.3 percent, but reached the 8.1 percent mark, which is a marked slowdown from 8.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011 and the lowest since the first quarter of 2009.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the growth rate figures released by China's National Bureau of Statistics come at a time when the country has shown signs of shifting its policy more towards supporting growth and continuing to shift away from inflation.

China's resilient growth and strong public finances stand in contrast to the U.S. and Europe, where unemployment remains high and high public debt limits the scope for a spur.

Inflation in March also rose, with the Consumer Price Index up at 3.6 percent, but analysts expect the prices to trend lower in the months ahead, the paper said.(ANI)