China's 1Q economic growth ticks higher to 6.9 percent

In this Sunday, April 16, 2017 photo, workers prepare to load cables at a building construction site as a propaganda banner reads "The Party Secretary General Xi Jinping" on display at the Central Business District in Beijing. China's economic growth ticked higher to 6.9 percent in the first quarter of the year, according to the latest figures. The official data released Monday, April 17, 2017, show that the world's second-biggest economy grew at a slightly faster pace in the January-March period compared with the previous quarter's 6.8 percent expansion (AP Photo/Andy Wong) (The Associated Press)

In this Sunday, April 16, 2017 photo, a worker assembles an aluminum platform reflecting the construction buildings at the Central Business District of Beijing. China's economic growth ticked higher to 6.9 percent in the first quarter of the year, according to the latest figures. The official data released Monday, April 17, 2017, show that the world's second-biggest economy grew at a slightly faster pace in the January-March period compared with the previous quarter's 6.8 percent expansion (AP Photo/Andy Wong) (The Associated Press)

In this Sunday, April 16, 2017 photo, a worker assembles an aluminum platform outside a construction site at the Central Business District of Beijing. China's economic growth ticked higher to 6.9 percent in the first quarter of the year, according to the latest figures. The official data released Monday, April 17, 2017, show that the world's second-biggest economy grew at a slightly faster pace in the January-March period compared with the previous quarter's 6.8 percent expansion (AP Photo/Andy Wong) (The Associated Press)

China's economic growth ticked higher to 6.9 percent in the first quarter of the year, according to the latest figures.

The official data released Monday show that the world's second-biggest economy grew at a slightly faster pace in the January-March period compared with the previous quarter's 6.8 percent expansion.

It's the second straight quarter that China's economy has accelerated, in a sign that a rebound is gaining momentum after last year's economic growth was its slowest pace in nearly three decades.

The rebound is being supported by government spending on infrastructure as well as a credit-fueled real estate boom.

In the first quarter, fixed asset investment expanded 9.2 percent compared with a year ago while retail sales grew 10 percent.

Beijing has set an official economic growth target of around 6.5 percent for 2017, down from last year's 6.8 percent growth.