The current GDP increase is three times higher compared to the fourth quarter of 2020, when the Chinese economy expanded 6.5%. The record growth comes after the nation's economy shrank by around 6.8% last year amid the coronavirus pandemic and its negative impact on the world economy.
The bureau also boasted increased urban employment, compared to the first quarter of 2020.
"In the first quarter, the newly increased employed people in urban areas numbered 2.97 million. In March, the urban surveyed unemployment rate was 5.3 percent, down by 0.2 percentage point compared with that in February and a 0.6 percentage point lower than that of the same period of the previous year", the statement read.
Bureau spokesperson Liu Aihua elaborated on the labour data during a press conference, saying the country had managed to implement its annual job creation plan by 27 percent within the first three months.
At the end of 2019, the Chinese city of Wuhan was the epicentre of the COVID-19 outbreak, which prompted the authorities to impose strict restrictions. As a result of that, last year, the Chinese economy rose by 2.3 percent, marking the lowest increase since 1976.