China says April economic growth within "reasonable range"

[BEIJING] China's economic growth was within "a reasonable range" in April, but the government still needed to work hard to keep growth steady going forward, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday.

More positive factors are emerging in China's economy but it still faces "complicated and grim economic environment at home and abroad", Sheng Laiyun, the bureau's spokesman said in comments published on the bureau's website. "There are signs of improvement in the euro-zone economy, but economic growth in the United States is easing and the Japanese economy remains sluggish, while growth in most emerging economies slows," he said.

Industrial output growth quickened slightly in April from the previous month, he said but did not give specifics.

Industrial output rose 5.6 per cent in March from a year earlier - the weakest reading since the global financial crisis - and economists polled by Reuters expected factory growth to pick up to 6.0 per cent in April.

Infrastructure investment rose more than 20 per cent in the first four months from a year earlier, higher than growth of overall investment, Sheng said.

The government will fine tune its policies to ensure a reasonable growth rate, he added in remarks ahead of Wednesday's release of April output, fixed-asset investment and retail sales data.

REUTERS