Consumers shop in a supermarket in Xuchang city, Central China's Henan province, Dec 7, 2014. [Asianewsphoto by Geng Guoqing]

BEIJING - Chinese people's disposable income expanded at a faster pace than economic growth in the first quarter of this year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Monday.

Per capita nominal disposable income of Chinese nationwide rose 8.5 percent in the first three months from a year ago, and per capita real disposable income after taking into consideration the effects of inflation increased 7 percent, outpacing the gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of 6.9 percent in the period, NBS figures showed.

Breakdown figures showed that urban residents' per capita real disposable income grew 6.3 percent year on year in the first quarter to 9,986 yuan ($1,452), while per capita disposable income of rural residents rose at a faster pace of 7.2 percent in the period to 3,880 yuan.

Other indicators released by the NBS on Monday, including fixed-asset investment and industrial production, pointed to stabilization in the world's second-largest economy.

NBS spokesperson Mao Shengyong said the economy had achieved a rosy start this year and the income gap between rural and urban residents narrowed, laying a solid foundation to realizing its full-year economic target.

The government trimmed this year's growth goal to around 6.5 percent from a range of 6.5 to 7 percent for 2016.