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By Bloomberg

China’s economy slowed to the weakest pace of expansion since 2009 last quarter as policymakers implement a reform program while cushioning growth with targeted stimulus.

Gross domestic product rose 7 percent in the three months through March from a year earlier, the statistics bureau said in Beijing Wednesday, matching the median estimate of economists in a Bloomberg survey of analysts. That rate matches the leadership’s target for its full year expansion pace.

Juggling the need to sustain employment and wages while reining in debt risks, corruption and pollution, China’s leaders have signaled tolerance for a slower expansion pace than the almost 10 percent average of the past decade. To prevent a hard landing, policy makers have relaxed home purchasing rules, cut interest rates twice and reduced the reserves banks must set aside since November.

“The government recently rolled out a series of easing measures, which likely supported activity,” Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economists led by Song Yu wrote in a note before the release. “The anti-corruption campaign’s drag on growth likely became smaller, after the most intensive entertainment and gift- giving period passed.”

Industrial production rose 6.4 percent in the three months through March from a year earlier, compared with the 6.9 percent median estimate of analysts and 6.8 percent in the first two months.

Economy’s Transition

Li is seeking to engineer a transition away from debt and investment-led growth towards an economy where consumers and services make up a bigger share. Retail sales climbed 10.2 percent from a year earlier in March, compared with the 10.9 percent seen by economists.

Fixed-asset investment excluding rural areas expanded 13.5 percent in the three months through March, compared with the 13.9 percent median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

Underscoring the effect slowing investment is having on the ground, Zoomline Heavy Industry Science and Technology Co. Ltd., the Changsha-based construction machinery manufacturer, yesterday flagged a first quarter loss. The company cited the continued slowdown in fixed-asset investment and delays in projects because of the Lunar New Year holidays.

Premier Li in March said that policy makers will step in to support the economy if jobs and wages are hurt by the slowdown.