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Growth in the world's second largest economy, China, beat expectations in the second quarter, but it was still the weakest showing since the global financial crisis.

The economy grew 7% from a year ago - matching growth in the first three months of the year, which was the lowest since 2009 when it fell to 6.6%.

A weaker property market and factory production have hampered growth. But, Beijing has rolled out a series of stimulus measures amid the slowdown.

The central bank cut interest rates for the fourth time since November last month to boost economic activity.

Economists are, however, continuing to call for more easing despite the better-than-expected numbers as volatility in the stock markets has sparked concerns of financial turmoil in the country.

Growth was expected to dip below the 7% mark and come in at 6.9% for the April to June quarter, BBC reported.