China on Tuesday revised its growth rate upward slightly for the first three months of the year, saying farming, fishing and some other industries expanded faster than thought.

The economy grew by 10.3 percent in January-March compared with the same period last year, up from the 10.2 percent rate previously reported, the National Bureau of Statistics announced.

Total economic output from January to March was raised by 7.7 billion yuan (US$960 million) to 4.339 billion yuan (US$541 billion), the bureau said.

Farming, fishing, animal husbandry and forestry accounted for just over half the added growth, the agency said. It said the rest came from services.

It said the new figures also showed that output from manufacturing, mining, construction and utilities was slightly lower than previously reported.

Chinese leaders want to maintain fast growth in order to reduce poverty while trying to restrain spending on factories, shopping malls and other assets that they fear could lead to a glut and financial problems.