BEIJING, May 13, 2009 (AFP) - China's industrial output rose 7.3 percent in April from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday, marking a slight slowdown compared with the previous month.

The figure was down from 8.3 percent growth in March, according to earlier data issued by the government.

The trade-dependent Chinese economy, the world's third-largest, has been severely hit by the global financial crisis, a fact highlighted in Wednesday's data.

Exports of industrial products totalled 566.2 billion yuan (83 billion dollars) last month, a steep decline of 14.3 percent from the same month in 2008, the statistics bureau said.

In order to lessen the impact of the worldwide slowdown, the Chinese government has taken a series of measures to boost growth, including the launch of an unprecedented four-trillion-yuan spending package in November.

The package is heavily focused on infrastructure investment, and various economic indicators show it is starting to have an impact.

April's production of cement, for example, a key component in construction projects, increased 12.9 percent from a year earlier, the statistics bureau said.