China has to make economic reform its top priority, he said.

Economists noted that the weaker than expected growth came as China pumped considerably more money into the economy in the first quarter.

The meeting also called for new ways to unleash more consumer demand by boosting green consumption and service industries.

Compared with the slowdown in manufacturing growth, service industries' growth accelerated in the first quarter, registering 8.3 percent year-on-year, according to the National Development and Reform Commission.

The meeting urged giving local governments more authority for project approval, a sign of more "flexible" microeconomic policies, and strictly curbing expansion of resource-intensive industries.

For example, Chinese banks have begun tightening loans to the iron and steel industry amid fear of rising bad loans. Citibank estimated that steel