Slightly exceeding official targets, mainland China's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 5.4% in the first quarter, on year, reported the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Wednesday.

Beijing has an annual national GDP growth target of "about 5%," and in recent months has eased monetary policy and enlarged fiscal outlays in a bid to boost domestic economic growth.

China's huge manufacturing sector grew by 7.7% in the first quarter, helping to pull up the rest of China economy with it, said ING Think, an arm of the Dutch investment house.

With international trade tariffs looming, the outlook for China's factories could dim in the second quarter, meaning that Beijing may need to boost its services sector as well, said ING Think.

"With manufacturing likely to take a hit from tariffs, China's ability to maintain solid growth moving forward could depend on the tertiary (services) industry helping to pick up the slack," advised ING Think.

Hindering China's economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic era have been weak property markets, involving bankruptcies and financial restructuring of many of the nation's largest residential property developers.

But the real estate sector could be finding a bottom, said ING Think.

Of China's 70 largest urban areas in March, "29 cities saw new home prices stable or increasing, while 14 saw used home prices stable or rising," observed ING Think, citing official data.

The official data "suggests that property prices are in the process of establishing a trough," said ING Think.

In other news, China retail sales grew 5.9% on year in March, up from a 4% on year gain in February, reported the National Bureau of Statistics.

Despite a good first quarter economically, Beijing may need to increase support in the second period, due to trade issues, said ING Think.

"Assuming US tariffs remain in place for some time and the external demand picture deteriorates more noticeably in the coming months, it's likely that more policy support will be needed," concluded ING Think.