China’s economic recovery regained mild momentum in the third quarter, rising by 1.3 per cent from the previous three months, amid ongoing calls for increased policy support to sustain a consistent growth trajectory.
The third-quarter growth was higher than the sequential rise of 0.8 per cent in the second quarter.
Year on year, China’s gross domestic product grew by 4.9 per cent in the third quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday.
The year-on-year figure was higher than the average economist’s estimate of a 4.5 per cent rise, as surveyed by Chinese data provider Wind.
China’s economy had grown by 6.3 per cent in the second quarter, year on year, which was largely due to the low base caused by last year’s economic shutdowns amid stringent coronavirus control measures.
Beijing has set an annual growth target of around 5 per cent for 2023.
The subdued property market remained a drag on China’s economy, as real estate investment – which accounts for about 20 to 30 per cent of the total investment – falling by 9.1 per cent in the first three quarters compared with a year earlier, contracting further from the 8.8 per cent drop in the first eight months of the year.
Elsewhere, fixed-asset investment – a major growth engine – expanded by 3.1 per cent in the first nine months of the year, compared with the same period last year, down from the 3.2 growth per cent in the first eight months of the year.
Retail sales, a major gauge for spending sentiment, grew by 5.5 per cent in September, compared with 4.6 per cent growth in August, and higher the 4.9 per cent growth predicted by Wind.
Industrial output, meanwhile, rose by 4.5 per cent in September, unchanged from August, but lower than the 4.6 per cent growth predicted by Wind.
The overall surveyed urban jobless rate stood at 5 per cent in September, down from 5.2 per cent in August. – South China Morning Post
