China's economic growth has slowed to 6.7 percent in the first quarter of 2016, the slowest pace seen since the height of the global financial crisis seven years ago.
State media reported Friday that the nation's gross domestic product grew 6.7 percent compared to the year before, reaching 2.4 trillion dollars.
The National Bureau of Statistics reported that the growth rate narrowed from the previous quarter's 6.8 percent. But the new estimate was within the range of government expectations, keeping the economy on track to meet the official full-year target of 6.5 to seven percent.
This was the slowest first-quarter growth seen in China's economy since 2009, when growth was measured at just 6.2 percent.
Chinese authorities have responded by cutting interest rates and investing in public works, hoping to reduce the nation's dependence on manufacturing and exporting products.