16.04.201400:05:00UTC+00China Q1 GDP Rises 7.4% On Year

China's gross domestic product gained 7.4 percent on year in the first quarter of 2014, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday.

That topped expectations for 7.3 percent following the 7.7 percent gain in the previous three months.

Among the sub-industries, primary industry added 3.5 percent on year, while secondary industry jumped 7.3 percent and tertiary industry climbed 7.8 percent.

On a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis, GDP added 1.4 percent - shy of expectations for 1.5 percent and slowing from 1.8 percent in the three months prior.

Analysts say the results should please investors, since the Chinese economy appears to be healthier that was feared - but also not so powerful that it would rule out stimulus at a later date.

The government also revealed that industrial production gained 8.8 percent on year in March - missing forecasts for 9.0 percent but up from 8.6 percent in February.

Among the individual components, the mining sector was up 2.9 percent, while manufacturing jumped 9.9 percent and utilities gained 5.4 percent.

For the first quarter, output added 8.7 percent on year. Mining was up 3.3 percent, while manufacturing climbed 9.9 percent and utilities gained 4.5 percent.

Retail sales climbed 12.2 percent, beating expectations for 12.1 percent and up from 11.8 percent in the previous month.

By region, urban retail sales were up 12.1 percent and rural retail sales added 12.9 percent.

For the first quarter, retail sales gained 12.0 percent on year, with urban sales rising 11.8 percent and rural sales gaining 12.8 percent.

Fixed-asset investment climbed an annual 17.6 percent in the first quarter - missing forecasts for 18.0 percent and down from 17.9 percent a month earlier.

By region, investment in the east was up 16.4 percent on year, while central investment climbed 20.2 percent and western investment gained 19.1 percent.

Primary industry investment was up 25.8 percent, while secondary industry investment gained 14.7 percent and tertiary industry investment collected 19.6 percent.