China's gross domestic product expanded by 5.4 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, the same pace as the previous quarter, official data showed on Wednesday, posting a steady recovery despite headwinds and mounting uncertainties.

The country's GDP grew to 31.88 trillion yuan ($4.35 trillion) in the first quarter, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, China's GDP grew by 1.2 percent in the first quarter, the NBS said.

Despite the improvement in key economic indicators, the NBS warned of pressures from a more complicated and grimmer external environment and lackluster domestic demand, saying the foundation for sustained recovery is yet to be consolidated.

In the next step, the NBS said the country should implement more proactive and effective macro policies. More efforts should also be made to stimulate the vitality of market entities of all types and actively respond to uncertainties from the external environment. 

Figures released by the NBS showed China's value-added industrial output rose by 7.7 percent in March after a 5.9 percent growth in the first two months of the year. 

In the first quarter, value-added industrial output grew by 6.5 percent compared to the same period last year, while in the last quarter of 2024, it rose by 5.7 percent from a year earlier. 

Retail sales, a key measurement of consumer spending, increased by 5.9 percent versus the 4 percent growth in the first two months. 

In the first quarter, retail sales rose by 4.6 percent compared to the same period last year, while in the last quarter of 2024, they surged 3.8 percent from a year earlier.

Fixed-asset investment - a gauge of expenditures on items including infrastructure, property, machinery and equipment – rose by 4.2 percent in the first three months, while in the first two months, it grew by 4.1 percent. 

The surveyed urban jobless rate came in at 5.2 percent in March, down from 5.4 percent in February, according to the NBS.