Beijing, April 16 - China's economy grew 7.4 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2014, authorities said Wednesday.

The National Bureau of Statistics said preliminary data showed the nation's gross domestic product reached 12.8213 trillion yuan ($2.08 trillion) in the first quarter, reported Xinhua.

The figures suggest growth in the world's second-largest economy was generally stable as the first-quarter growth exceeded market estimates of 7.3 percent.

However, it slowed compared to the 7.7-percent growth in the fourth quarter of 2013, and marked the lowest quarterly growth level since the third quarter of 2012.

Still, the figure outperformed the 6.6-percent growth in the first quarter of 2009, when the global financial crisis wreaked havoc.(IANS)