Analysts said April's slowdown was in line with the industrial production data released earlier. Industrial production rose 8.7 percent in April from a year earlier, the slowest growth in five years.

Other key data, including fixed-asset investment, property investment and retail sales, also reported slowdowns in April. But leading indicators showed signs of improvement in May.

The preliminary Purchasing Managers Index for the manufacturing sector this month has beaten expectations to reach a five-month high, according to HSBC Holdings Plc. The daily electricity output growth in the first 20 days of May accelerated to 4.3 percent year-on-year.

Alan Oster, group chief economist of National Australia Bank Ltd, said he was "reasonably relaxed" about China because the focus now is on the quality rather than the quantity of the growth.

"I see China as attempting to essentially slow down shadow banking, slow down housing and trying to make the growth path on which they should go forward more sustainable," Oster said.

He forecast that the Chinese economy would grow by about 7.25 percent in 2014 and 7 percent next year, which is still quite strong, he said.

"At 7 percent, you are creating almost the same demand for commodities as you used to at 10 percent," Oster said. "At 7 percent, China will create the equivalent of a new South Korea every two and a bit years."

Oster said PMIs of around 50 in China are roughly consistent with the growth of 10 percent in industrial production.

He noted that some State enterprises may fail, but that is not really a problem.

"That's actually part of the way the market works. I think it's really useful that you are starting to get the idea that this is moving to a more market-oriented economy," he said.

Growth stabilized - April data preview	Jan-April industrial added value up 8.7%