China's gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter grew 10.6 percent over the same period of last year, and also higher than the annual growth rate target of 8 percent, the China National Bureau of Statistics (CNBS) said on Wednesday.

The consumer price index (CPI) rose by 8.0 percent in first quarter, of which food prices rose by 21.0 percent. In March, CPI rose 8.3 percent, slightly lower than 8.7 percent of February, when the Spring Festival and southern China's snowstorm raised prices. China set the targets of annual growth rate to be regulated and controlled within 4.8 percent at the beginning of this year.

In addition, the producer price index (PPI), the leading indicator of CPI, rose 6.9 percent in the first quarter, 4 percents higher than the growth rate of the first quarter last year.

CNBS also said that total fixed asset investment in the first quarter was 2.18 trillion Yuan, representing a year-on-year growth of 24.6 percent. The number of new jobs in urban areas across the country is 3.03 million, reached 30.3 percent of the year's target of 10 million new jobs.

The total retail sales of social consumer goods reached 2.56 trillion Yuan, an increase of 20.6 percent over the same period of 2007. Some speculate that the tremendous level of negative interest rates and inflationary pressure are encouraging consumers to save less and increase consumption.

China will continue to implement a tight monetary policy and a prudent fiscal policy, CNBS added.

China Inflation Consumer price index