China Growth Slowest On Record, But Upturn In Sight

"China struggled out of the gate this year with its weakest quarter on record, but a pick-up in March showed the world's third-largest economy was on track for stronger growth in coming months.... Annual economic growth slowed to 6.1 percent in the first quarter from 6.8 percent in the fourth quarter, official data showed on Thursday, slightly missing economists' 6.3 percent forecast and marking the weakest expansion since quarterly records began in 1992...." [Reuters/Factiva]

Xinhua adds that National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) spokesman Li Xiaochao "...said the government's stimulus measures had produced positive results and the first quarter performance was better than expected.... In the first two months, investment in new projects rose 87.5 percent from the same period of last year, with that in the railway transport sector more than doubled.... Retail sales grew 15 percent...." [Xinhua/Factiva]

AP writes, however, that "...Beijing worries that rising job losses due to the crisis will fuel unrest and its priority is creating jobs for millions of unemployed people. Some analysts say 8 percent growth - China's official target for this year - is the minimum needed to create enough employment. But others say the government should focus on job creation, not overall growth...." [Associated Press/Factiva]