Multiple moves on table to spur consumption

Economist: Key indicators like CPI, PPI suggest demand sluggishness

China is likely to announce additional stimulus policies, including extra fiscal support, targeted monetary easing and stronger consumption-boosting initiatives, to put its economic growth on a more solid footing, as the country's top leadership usually convenes a high-level meeting centered on economic issues around the end of April, analysts said.

The tone-setting meeting would be an important occasion for China's policymakers to reassess the fast-paced developments in the trade war initiated by Washington against Beijing over the past month, and to formulate offsetting policies in response, they added.

"While the 5.4 percent GDP growth rate in the first quarter is a good start, key indicators like the consumer price index and producer price index suggest that weakness in domestic demand still persists," said Xiong Yuan, chief economist at Guosheng Securities.