2018.01.1823:35:00UTC+00China Economy Expands 6.9% in 2017

China's economy expanded by 6.9 percent in 2017 according to official data - the first time in seven years the pace of growth has accelerated.

The country's 6.8 percent year on year growth rate for the fourth quarter locked in China's first yearly gross domestic product pick up since 2010. The annual figure surpassed the government's full year target of “around 6.5 percent".

China is a key driver of the global economy and so the stronger-than-expected data is likely to cheer investors around the world.

Several analysts had expected policymakers to ensure a robust growth performance in the run-up to October's five-yearly Communist party congress, where President Xi Jinping strengthened his hold on power.

Policymakers have engineered a sharp slowdown in credit growth, following years of aggressive credit stimulus. China's ratio of debt to GDP dropped for the first time since 2011 in the first half by some estimates.

However, as Beijing raises efforts to lower risky debt and to increase air quality, analysts said this may impact 2018 growth. They also caution that the trade-off between growth and de-leveraging will get tougher this year, with a slowing property market and tighter controls on local-government infrastructure spending expected to weigh on the economy.