China's economy expanded 9.7 percent in the first quarter of 2011 from a year earlier, and 2.1 percent from the previous quarter to 9,631.1 billion yuan (1,459.3 billion U.S. dollars), the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Friday.

"The national economy has a good beginning given the steady and relatively fast growth," said Sheng Laiyun, spokesman of the NBS.

Starting this April, the NBS is publishing quarter-on-quarter GDP growth results, a common practice in developed countries, to better reflect economic changes.

In the fourth quarter of 2010, the economy grew 9.8 percent year on year from 9.6 percent in the third quarter, after slowing from 11.9 percent in the first quarter and 10.3 percent in the second.

"The pace eased slightly in the first quarter but will pick up in autumn. The figure shows the tightening measures are taking effect," said Zhu Jianfang, chief economist with CITIC Securities.

China has set its GDP target for 2011 at 8 percent.

Inflation up but controllable

The country's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rose 5.4 percent in March from a year ago, a 32-month high, said the NBS.

The CPI stood at 5 percent for the first quarter, according to the NBS. The country aims to hold inflation at around 4 percent for the full year.

The producer price index, a major gauge of inflation at the wholesale level, rose 7.3 percent in March from a year ago, the highest in the past 30 months, the statistical agency said.

"Imported inflation has strongly contributed to the domestic price hike," the NBS spokesman said.

Prices of crude oil, iron ore and grains rocketed to the highest in two years in March.

"To contain CPI growth to 5 percent for the quarter is a hard-earned victory amid abundant liquidity globally and widespread inflation in emerging economies," Sheng said.

China's March inflation data was still lower than 6.3 percent for Brazil, 9.5 percent for Russia, he added.

To mop up the excessive liquidity that can stimulate inflation, the country's central bank has raised the reserve requirement ratio for commercial banks nine times since the beginning of last year.