Job seekers are seen on a job fair in Huai'an City, east China's Jiangsu Province, Feb. 12, 2019. (Xinhua/He Jinghua)

The Chinese economy performed within an appropriate range in Q1, with majority of the indicators faring better than expectations in March, NBS spokesperson Mao Shengyong told a press conference. "Market expectations are improving and positive factors are mounting."

POLICY DIVIDENDS UNLEASHING

Mao attributed growing confidence in China's development to the roll-out and implementation of a string of supportive policies.

China highlighted stabilizing employment, trade, investment, finance, foreign investment and market expectations and took counter-cyclical adjustment measures in Q4 2018.

Targeted steps were taken to expand effective investment and domestic consumption earlier this year while the government decided in March to cut taxes and fees for the public and enterprises.

A staff member (R) explains to a taxpayer about a new policy on VAT reduction at a local tax bureau in Fengze District of Quanzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province, April 1, 2019. (Xinhua/Song Weiwei)

Data from the central bank showed that new yuan-denominated loans and newly-added social financing all posted faster growth in March, indicating that the financial sector is playing a bigger role in supporting the real economy thanks to policy guidance.

"China's more nuanced approach to stimulus this time around has nonetheless translated into a pronounced market bounce," UBS said in a note when commenting on the country's strong factory activity expansion in March.

The People's Bank of China said Monday that it would strengthen coordination between monetary, fiscal and other policies to keep growth stable and forestall risks.

STEADY GROWTH ON TRACK

The stable Q1 performance has laid a sound foundation for the stable and healthy economic development of the whole year, the NBS said.

China aims to expand its GDP by 6-6.5 percent this year.

While downgrading global growth forecasts, the International Monetary Fund last week revised up China's 2019 growth projection by 0.1 percentage points to 6.3 percent, citing factors including the recent developments in the China-U.S. trade talks and China's stronger-than-expected expansionary fiscal policy.

Martin Raiser, World Bank country director for China, said the 6.4 percent Q1 GDP growth was a sign that economic activity had stabilized. "The turn of the credit cycle is expected to lead to an upswing in the second half of the year."

The economic downward pressure still persists given global uncertainties and domestic structural issues, Mao said.

The government will redouble efforts to implement policies to ensure the economy performs within an appropriate range and advance the high-quality development, Mao added. Enditem