CHINA'S economy expanded 9.7 percent in first quarter 2011 from a year earlier, while its inflation in March hits a 32-month peak of 5.4 percent, the National Bureau of Statistics said today.

China's GDP grows 2.1 percent in the first three months of 2011 from the previous quarter to 9,631.1 billion yuan (US$1,459.3 billion), the bureau said.

"The national economy had a good beginning with steady and relatively fast growth," said Sheng Laiyun, the bureau spokesman.

In the fourth quarter of 2010, the economy grew 9.8 percent year on year from 9.6 percent in the third quarter, after slowing down from 11.9 percent in the first quarter and 10.3 percent in the second.

China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rose 5.4 percent in March from a year ago, the highest figure over the past 32 months.

The figure was down 0.2 percentage point from February. The quarterly figure is up 5 percent, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

China's urban fixed asset investment rose 25 percent in the first quarter of this year to reach 3.9465 trillion yuan, the bureau said.

During the period, investment in the property sector rose 34.1 percent year on year to reach 884.6 billion yuan. Investment in residential housing hit 625.3 billion yuan, up 37.4 percent.

China's retail sales of consumer goods rose 16.3 percent year on year to 4.2922 trillion yuan in the first quarter, the bureau said.

Sheng said that the retail sales of March grew 17.4 percent from a year earlier, and edged up 1.34 percent from February.

Urban retail sales of consumer goods grew 16.4 percent to 3.7248 trillion yuan in the first quarter, while retail sales in rural areas rose 15.8 percent to 567.4 billion yuan from a year earlier, Sheng said.