BEIJING -- China's central bank cut interest rates for the first time in more than six years in a surprise move that underscored how concern over the strains in the U.S. financial system is reordering economic priorities world-wide.

Worries about the spillover from the U.S. appeared to lead Chinese authorities to shift decisively -- and more quickly than most anticipated -- toward supporting growth, after an inflation scare that has been their top preoccupation for more than a year.

The...