China's economic growth tops forecasts, war risks loom

China's economy grew 5.0 per cent in the first quarter from a year earlier, official data shows, beating analysts' expectations as policymakers brace for the fallout from the Iran war.

Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast the January-March quarter gross domestic product (GDP) would expand 4.8 per cent from a year earlier, compared with a 3-year low of 4.5 per cent in the fourth quarter.

On a quarterly basis, GDP grew 1.3 per cent in the first quarter, matching forecasts and just ahead of the 1.2 per cent gain in the previous quarter.

Risks to the world's second-largest economy have surged since the Middle East war erupted on February 28.

The conflict has laid bare a critical vulnerability: as the world's biggest energy importer and a heavily export-driven economy, China is acutely exposed to an oil shock that is already slowing trade, driving up factory costs and clouding the outlook for the year.