Better than expected growth shows economy has resilience

The 6.9 percent economic growth China recorded in the first quarter of this year beat market expectations. Before the figure was released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday, many analysts had expected the economy to expand 6.8 percent in the January-March period, the same rate as in the last quarter of 2016.

The slightly improved figure results from many factors, including increased government infrastructure spending, a booming housing market, robust industrial output, a rebound in exports and strong retail sales.

The impressive performance in the first quarter lays a good foundation for the government to achieve this year's annual growth target of around 6.5 percent.