BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s economy grew at a faster-than-expected clip in the third quarter from a year earlier, official data showed on Wednesday, suggesting the recent recovery may carry enough steam to reach Beijing’s full-year growth target.
Gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4.9% in July-September from the year earlier, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed, versus analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 4.4% increase but slower than the 6.3% expansion in the second quarter.
On a quarter-by-quarter basis, GDP grew 1.3% in the third quarter, accelerating from a revised 0.5% in the second quarter, and the rate was above the forecast for growth of 1.0%.
Thanks to a slew of policy measures in recent months, the world’s second-biggest economy has started to show signs of stabilising, but a protracted property crisis, uncertainties over employment and household income and weak confidence among private firms pose risks to a durable revival.
The government has set a full year 2023 growth target of around 5.0%.
(This story has been corrected to fix the Q3 GDP growth figure to 4.9%, not 5.2%, in headline and paragraph 2)