General Motors has dismissed claims that China's economy is overheating, reporting that profits from the company's China sector had almost quadrupled in the first quarter, Reuters reports.

Fears are founded on the dramatic rise in automotive manufacturing in the country, with the large car companies including GM and Volkswagen all planning to increase output significantly in the coming months.

Beijing also reported a huge 9.8 per cent increase in the Chinese economy this year, a phenomenon it plans to tackle with limits on credit growth and investment.

Spokespeople for GM claimed, however, that fears were getting out of hand.

GM's China chief, Phil Murtaugh, explained: "(They say) the government's trying to slow down steel, concrete and real estate, and they are overheating and that's slowing down car sales from 80 per cent to 10 per cent."

Yet this still represents a faster growth than more developed markets, such as the United States and Britain, he added.

Commentators have predicted that China will become GM's second-largest market this year, after the US. Last year, China stood in fourth place.