China's economy has rebounded more than expected after the country’s so-called zero-COVID restrictions were dropped in December.

New figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday showed GDP grew 4.5% in the first three months of this year, beating expectations from analysts who had forecast slightly lower.

Investors had been closely watching the first quarter data for clues on the strength of China's recovery following the dropping of all COVID curbs and the easing of a three-year crackdown on tech firms and property.

The growth was driven in part by retail sales which grew more than 10% in March, a near two-year high.

Strong export growth in the same stretch of months also gave the economy a boost.

But a spokesperson for China's Statistics Bureau said the outlook remained uncertain.

"But we must also see that the international environment is still complex, there are uncertainties in the growth of external demand, insufficient constraints in domestic market demand still exist, and the prices of industrial products are still falling. Enterprise efficiency still faces many difficulties."

The new figures still mark a turnaround for the world's second largest economy after its GDP growth last year slumped to one of its worst in nearly half a century.

The January-March growth rate was, however, short of the government's full year target of 5%.

Chinese policymakers have pledged to step up support for the $18 trillion economy to keep a lid on unemployment but they face limited room to manoeuvre as businesses grapple with debt risks, structural woes and global recession worries.