Update: China’s Third-Quarter GDP Rises 4.6%, Beating Expectations

China’s economy expanded 4.6% year-on-year in the third quarter, official data showed Friday, the weakest pace in six quarters, as the depressed property sector and sluggish investment outweighed an improvement in consumption and industrial output.

The GDP growth figure, released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), compared with the average estimate of 4.4% in a Caixin survey of economists and a 4.7% pace in the second quarter, taking the year-on-year increase in the first nine months to 4.8%. Premier Li Qiang in March set a target of “around 5%” for 2024.

China's GDP Growth Edges Down

“The economy is at a critical stage of structural adjustment and transformation,” Sheng Laiyun, a deputy commissioner of the NBS, said at a press conference. “Cyclical and structural issues are intertwined, and the impact of adjustment is being felt by the economy.”