China's annual economic growth picked up to 10.2 per cent in the first quarter.
In confirming the gross domestic product rate disclosed at the weekend by President Hu Jintao, the National Bureau of Statistics expressed concern over excessively loose credit and unbalanced growth, but said the overall outlook for the economy remained positive.
"First-quarter GDP growth looks a bit fast, but it is still reasonable," said the bureau's spokesman.
"Current economic conditions and growth mean we can say we have the confidence, the means and the experience to properly use adjustment to keep within a suitable, stable and relatively rapid range," he told a news conference.
Economic growth picked up from the previous quarter, when GDP was 9.9 per cent higher than a year earlier, and was powered by a pick-up in growth in investment in fixed assets such as factories and roads to 27.7 per cent from 25.7 per cent in all of 2005.
Economists said the data cemented the case for measures to rein in growth. Many tipped an increase in the proportion of deposits that banks are required to hold in reserve at the central bank - money that thus cannot be lent out.