China’s economy grew faster than expected in the latest quarter, as booming exports underpinned by artificial intelligence drove activity, according to official figures.
Gross domestic product expanded 4.5 percent in the July-September period from a year earlier, up from 4.3 percent in the second quarter. The National Bureau of Statistics released the figures on Monday, and they beat most analysts’ forecasts. In the first nine months of the year, GDP grew 4.6 percent year-on-year, according to preliminary data.
Exports and factory output lift third-quarter growth
Technology-related exports have surged during the AI boom, the data showed. Chinese exports rose more than 16 percent in the first three quarters, reaching 23.19 billion yuan ($3.47bn), largely due to strong demand for semiconductors and other tech goods.
Industrial production, which covers manufacturing and mining, rose 5.5 percent in September. That lifted output growth for the first three quarters to 5.3 percent.
Weak demand and property slump still weigh on economy
Growth has been held back by weak domestic demand and a sagging property market. Retail sales, a key measure of consumption, rose 1.1 percent year-on-year in September and 2.6 percent over the first nine months of 2026.
Fixed-asset investment, which includes spending on real estate, factories and machinery, edged up 0.7 percent last month. However, it contracted 7.2 percent over January to September. The ruling Communist Party has set a growth target of 4.5 to 5 percent for 2026, which would be among the slowest expansions in decades outside the COVID-19 pandemic.
Analyst sees managed slowdown as Beijing’s aim
Zhiguo He, a finance professor at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, said China is on track to meet official targets. He added that Beijing will be wary of continued reliance on export-driven growth.
“I expect Beijing is getting 4.5 percent as wanted,” He said. “A managed slow slowdown is the best Beijing can hope for.” He said the continuing contraction in real estate was what Beijing wanted, and that households were adjusting their expectations accordingly.
