China's industrial output up 9.3% in April

The NBS said in mid April that China's gross domestic product growth for the first quarter of 2013 slowed to 7.7 percent, down from 7.9 percent during the final quarter of 2012 and sapping expectation for a strong rebound.

Official data also showed China's Purchasing Managers' Index for the manufacturing sector, a widely observed economic indicator, fell to 50.6 percent in April from 50.9 percent in March, suggesting the foundations for China's economic recovery had not solidified.

Problems including overcapacity have become more evident amid sluggish external demand and as the effects of stimulus packages fade, explained Liu Yuanchun, vice president of the School of Economics at Beijing's Renmin University of China.

"A certain level of tolerance [to the problems] is needed before optimizing the economic structure," Liu added.

Zhu Baoliang, deputy head of the department of economic forecast at the State Information Center, stressed that economic growth is only one indicator of the economy's health.

Zhu, while labeling China's growth rate "suitable," said the consumer price index, a main gauge of inflation, grew 2.4 percent year on year in April, up from 2.1 percent in March but well below the year's control target of 3.5 percent.

In the first quarter, the country also completed 38 percent of its annual urban employment target, Zhu added.

"China's economy is shifting its gears. The fall in economic growth will last for a medium-to-long term," the CCIEE's Wang Jun said.