Growth in China's gross domestic product (GDP) slowed to 6.1 per cent for the first quarter of 2009, new figures show.
The rise represents the slowest growth since quarterly records began in 1992, and is a drop from the 6.8 per cent growth recorded in the final quarter of last year.
China's government recently pledged it would aim to achieve an annual growth of eight per cent, despite the global financial slowdown.
Announcing the GDP figures, the national bureau of statistics (NBS) said one of the main reasons for the drop was the fall in export demand, which fell by 17 per cent.
Despite the slow-down in GDP, analysts claim China's economy will improve during the remaining months of 2009.
During the first quarter of the year, industrial input expanded by over five per cent and retail sales experienced a 14.7 per cent growth during March.
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