China's economy slowed to 7 percent growth in the first quarter of 2015, from 7.3 percent in the fourth quarter, according to the country's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Although growth was down from the previous quarter, it turned out to be better than the forecasts of multiple institutions that China's first-quarter growth would fall below 7 percent.

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Gross domestic product (GDP) for the first quarter was 14.07 trillion yuan ($2.29 trillion dollars), up 7 percent from the same period the last year, according to NBS data, which also showed strong industrial output growth of 7.9 percent during the quarter.

"The Chinese economy is generally holding steady in the first quarter because employment, consumer prices and market expectations are basically stable, despite a slowdown in economic growth," NBS spokesperson Sheng Laiyun said at a press conference in Beijing.

The slowdown was attributed by the government to the sluggish global economic recovery in the post-crisis period, and the ongoing domestic structural reforms.

Also during the first quarter, fixed asset investment grew 13.5 percent from last year to 7.75 trillion yuan, compared to the 13.9-percent growth reported for the months of  January and February, and the 17.6-percent growth in the first quarter last year.  Retail sales rose 10.6 percent from the previous year to 7.07 trillion yuan.

The average per capita disposable income of Chinese households increased 9.4 percent from last year to 6,087 yuan. And the consumer price index, which is used to indicate the rate of inflation, was 1.2 percent for the first quarter.

In other economic news,  investment in China's real estate industry rose 8.5 percent from the first quarter of last year to 1.67 trillion yuan ($271 billion) in the first three months of 2015, the NBS said. That figure is down from the 10.4 percent-increase seen in January and February.

Additionally, China's consumer spending reported double-digit growth during the first quarter of 2015. Retail sales surged 10.6 percent from last year during the first three months of the year to 7.07 trillion yuan ($1.15 trillion, according to the  National Bureau of Statistics.

TagsChina’s Economy Slows in First Quarter, National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, Gross domestic product, Sheng Laiyun