China will speed up construction projects and other measures to support economic growth after a slowdown in industrial output and investment boosted risks of missing a 7.5 percent expansion target for the year.

The nation will "seize the moment to roll out already-determined measures in expanding domestic demand and stabilizing growth," the State Council, or cabinet, said in a statement last night after a meeting. China will "accelerate preliminary work and construction on key investment projects with timely assignment of budgeted funds," the statement said.

The statement signals that Premier Li Keqiang, who led the meeting, is concerned that the growth goal is becoming more difficult to reach after fixed-asset investment expanded at the slowest January-February pace since 2001 and retail sales showed the weakest gains for the period since 2004. Li is also dealing with challenges including pollution, debt and increasing risks of defaults in financial products and companies.

"Against the background of increasing downward pressure on growth, the pro-growth signals from the meeting are very timely and necessary," Xu Gao, chief economist with Everbright Securities Co. in Beijing, said in a note. "Measures to stabilize growth will materialize gradually to cause a modest acceleration in growth," wrote Xu, who formerly worked at the World Bank.