China's GDP growth still high: FM

BEIJING - China will strengthen cooperation with all countries to achieve sustainable growth of the world economy and make its due contribution, a spokeswoman said on Thursday.

Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Hua Chunying made the comment at a daily news briefing in response to questions that China might be a drag on the global economic growth rate as the country slowed to 7.4 percent GDP growth in the first quarter.

Compared with the 3.6 percent global economic growth for 2014 projected by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) this week, China's 7.4 growth is still a high rate, Hua said.

Hua said China "has taken the lead" in world economic development. In 2013, it contributed close to 30 percent of world economic growth, much higher than its GDP share in the world economy.

The world has a common responsibility to promote economic growth and all countries need to work together, Hua said.

The National Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday that China's year-on-year GDP growth slowed to 7.4 percent in the first quarter, lower than the full-year target of 7.5 percent but higher than the 7.3 percent widely expected among economists.

Though it was the lowest quarterly rise since the third quarter of 2012, growth was stable and the economy was generally in good health, said the Bureau.