China's gross domestic product, or GDP, totaled 5.03 trillion yuan (653 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter of this year, according to latest figures provided by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Thursday.

China's GDP totaled 5.03 trillion yuan (US$653 billion) in the first quarter of this year, up 11.1% in first quarter, according to latest figures provided by the National Bureau of Statistics on April 19, 2007. [Reuters]

The growth was 0.7 percentage points higher than the year-earlier level.

China's primary, secondary and tertiary sectors reported a respective 363.1 billion, 2.56 trillion and 2.11 trillion yuan in added value, with the secondary sector, including manufacturing, mining and construction, growing at the fastest year-on-year rate -- 13.2 percent -- in the January-March period, the statistical bureau said.

The primary sector posted a growth rate of 4.4 percent and the tertiary sector, including transport, posts and telecommunications, catering , tourism, banking and insurance, recorded an increase of 9.9 percent, the bureau added.

The rapid economic growth was driven by investment, consumption and import and export, said Li Xiaochao, spokesman with the statistical bureau, citing consumption in particular, which grew in an impressive way in the first quarter.

As for the question about whether the Chinese economy is overheated, Li said it was a comprehensive problem, and to judge whether the economy is overheated, the GDP-growth indicator alone was not enough.

But Li warned that now there existed a risk for Chinese economy to evolve from fast growth to overheating.

(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)