China's economy expanded 9.7 percent in first quarter 2011 year-on-year, and 2.1 percent from the previous quarter, while China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rose 5.4 percent in March from a year ago, down 0.2 percent from February, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Friday.

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

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.

CPI rose 5.4 percent in March from a year ago, the highest figure over the past 32 months, the nation's statistic agency said on Friday.

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

Retail sales, which measure consumer spending in China, rose 16.3 percent year on year in the first quarter, compared to 15.8 percent during the first two months.

The State Council, or China's Cabinet, has pledged to continue the country's prudent monetary policy to rein in soaring prices.

"Judging from the inflation situation in the first quarter, we are still under great pressure of price hikes," said Premier Wen Jiabao at an executive meeting of the cabinet on Wednesday, adding, "We should never lower our guard."

Consumer spending, regarded as one of the three engines driving China's economic growth, contributed to about 37 percent of China's 39.8 trillion yuan of GDP last year.

As for the other two engines, foreign trade and investment both accelerated in the first quarter.

The country's foreign trade volume surged 29.5 percent to 800.3 billion U.S. dollars, with a trade deficit of one billion U.S. dollars in the first quarter.

Urban fixed asset investment rose 25 percent to 3.9465 trillion yuan, with investment in the property sector rising 34.1 percent year on year to 884.6 billion yuan, according to the NBS.

China has set its GDP target for 2011 at 8 percent.