China says its economic growth is 'reasonable'

BEIJING: China's economy faces downward pressure but growth is within a reasonable range, the spokesman of the statistics bureau said on Wednesday after data showed economic expansion slid to a six-year low between January and March.

Sheng Laiyun told a news conference that China's survey-based unemployment rate stood at 5.1 percent, without specifying the time period.

Figures published earlier on Wednesday showed China's economic growth cooled to 7.0 percent in the first quarter, in line with expectations even though activity data for March disappointed across the board.- Reuters