China's GDP expanded 4.6% year-on-year to reach CNY107.11 trillion in the first nine months, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported. The figure is within the annual GDP growth target of around 4.5% to 5% for this year, laying a solid foundation for achieving the full-year growth target. In the third quarter, China's GDP grew 4.5% year-on-year, accelerating from the 4.3% growth recorded in the second quarter. In the first quarter, China's GDP jumped 5%, NBS data showed. Observers said the third-quarter reading reflects multiple factors, including the manufacturing strength of China's high-tech and equipment sectors, which continued to underpin robust external demand, the strong drive from new and emerging industries, as well as the steady progress in the course of high-quality development. Amid mounting uncertainties, the steady growth of the Chinese economy – which serves as both the “world's market” and a “super buyer” – is an anchor of growth, providing much-needed certainty to the world economy, analysts said.
“Based on the forecasts by some international institutions, China's growth rate of 4.6% still leads among the world's major economies. Also, in terms of absolute increase, the Chinese economy in the first three quarters added CNY5.7 trillion in output, the largest increment in the past five years,” NBS Deputy Director Mao Shengyong said at a press briefing of the State Council Information Office (SCIO). China's CNY5.7 trillion increment in economic output in the first three quarters is roughly equivalent to the annual GDP of Belgium, the world's 23rd largest economy. Mao also stressed that China's third-quarter GDP growth rebounded by 0.2 percentage point from the second quarter, which is “hard-won and highly commendable,” as the greater impact of higher international oil prices caused by the Middle East conflict led some international institutions to lower their third-quarter growth forecasts for major economies compared with the second quarter.
“The Chinese economy demonstrated a clear trend of advancing toward new and higher-quality development in the first three quarters, with growth momentum shifting toward new drivers from old ones,” Hu Qimu, Professor at the Maritime Silk Road Institute of Huaqiao University, told the Global Times. “China has achieved almost the best result it can, taking account downward pressures, especially the increasingly complicated geopolitical environment,” he added.
One of the major takeaways from the first nine months’ data is the continuous improvement of the economic structure, as “what matters more at this stage of economic upgrade and transformation is the quality,” analysts said. New growth drivers continued to gain ground, with contributions to the overall economy exceeding 40% in the first three quarters. The value-added of high-tech manufacturing rose 14.3%, while equipment manufacturing grew 10.2%. The output of 3D printing equipment, lithium-ion batteries and industrial robots surged 62.5%, 39.5% and 29.1%, respectively, the Global Times reports.
