China's economy grows 4.5% in third quarter, beating forecasts
Exports and strong tech sales helped lift China's growth past expectations, while domestic demand and property investment lagged. Officials say the recovery remains relatively weak.
By Standard Topic. AI-generated from the reporting listed under Coverage. Published . Updated .
What happened
China's economy expanded 4.5% on an annual basis in the third quarter, ahead of the 4.4% analysts had expected and enough to meet the official target. Booming exports drove the gains, while real estate development investment fell 20.6% and fixed-asset investment fell 7.2% in the first nine months. Officials said the economy has withstood pressure but that its recovery momentum remains weak.
Why it matters
Strong exports are putting China's trading partners under growing international resistance. Analysts expect China could finish 2026 at the lower end of Beijing's 4.5-5% growth target.
Timeline
- Oct 19, 7:20 AM ET: China's economy grew 4.5% on an annual basis in the third quarter, beating the 4.4% expected and meeting the official target.
- Oct 19, 10:54 PM ET: The statistics bureau said GDP grew 4.6% year-on-year in the first three quarters, reaching 107.11 trillion yuan.
Coverage
- Steering the economy toward new and positive growth amid external volatility (chinadailyhk.com)
- Chinese official says economy resilient but recovery momentum remains weak (Yahoo News)
- Chinese Official Says Economy Resilient but Recovery Momentum Remains Weak (Reuters)
- China's economy remains resilient despite global stressors (asianews.network)
- Xinhua Headlines: China's Q3 economy picks up pace, reinforcing role as global growth engine (english.anhuinews.com)
- China on path to meet annual economic growth target in 2026 (Anadolu Agency)
- China's export juggernaut hits international resistance (Axios)
- China's economy grew 4.5% in the third quarter, beating forecasts on export surge (qz.com)
- Chinese economy picks up pace as booming exports boost growth (thetimes.com)
- Roaring exports lift China’s economic growth; violent French protests put pressure on euro and bonds (The Guardian)
- China's economy accelerated in the July-September quarter on robust exports (guardonline.com)
- China’s economy grows 4.5 percent in Q3, beating forecasts (Al Jazeera)
- China’s economy gains pace on exports as domestic demand falters (Times of India)
- Asia stocks edge lower despite stronger China growth as AI jitters persist (Investing.com)
- China’s economy grows 4.5% in third quarter on export surge (Euronews)
- China's economic growth accelerates to 4.5% in third quarter (Yahoo News)
- China's economy grew 4.5% in the previous quarter, fueled by robust exports (AP)
- China's economic growth picks up in third quarter, beating expectations (AOL)
- China's economy grew 4.5% in the previous quarter, better than forecasts (AP)
- China's Q3 GDP growth accelerates to 4.5%, beating forecast (Yahoo News)
- China GDP growth picks up thanks to export boom (CNN)
- China Economy Expands 1.2% QoQ in Q3 (TradingView)
- China's economic growth quickens to 4.6% as exports surge, stimulus rolls out (CNBC)
- China's economic growth picks up as AI boom boosts exports (BBC)
- Developing | China’s economy grows 4.5% in third quarter, staying on track for annual target (South China Morning Post)
- China's Q3 GDP growth set to pick up as exports power ahead (Yahoo News)
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