Guangzhou (JLC), October 18, 2024 – China's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 4.6% year on year in the third quarter (Q3), compared to a 4.7% rise in Q2, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Friday.
In the first three quarters, China's GDP grew by 4.8% year on year, the bureau said.
The economy was generally stable with steady progress in the first three quarters, and the effects of policies continued to manifest, the NBS said, with major indicators showing positive changes in September.
“Positive factors” started to build up in September, highlighting the potential for a rebound in economic growth, the NBS added.
China has recently released a slew of fresh stimulus measures to further help the economy.
“We are confident that China can achieve the GDP growth target of around 5% for the full year of 2024,” said Sheng Yunlai, deputy head of the NBS, on October 18.
September data
China's key economic indicators continued to improve in September.
China's value-added industrial output - a gauge of activity in the manufacturing, mining and utilities sectors - grew 5.4% year on year in September, accelerating from 4.5% in August, figures released by the NBS showed. In January-September, the industrial output grew 5.8% year on year.
Meanwhile China's manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose to 49.8% in September, up from 49.1% in August, suggesting the manufacturing sector improved somewhat, the NBS data indicated.
The service sector continued to improve, with the service production index rising 5.1% year on year in September, compared to a 4.6% increase in August, the NBS said. In January- September, the service production index rose 4.7% year on year.
Retail sales of goods, a key measurement of consumer spending, gained 3.2% year on year in September, the NBS data showed. In January-September, China’s retail sales of consumer goods gained 3.3% year on year to CNY35.36 trillion.
Fixed-asset investment - a gauge of expenditures on sectors including infrastructure, property, machinery and equipment – increased 3.4% year on year to CNY37.90 trillion in January-September.
In yuan terms, the total value of imports and exports of goods stood at about 3.75 trillion yuan in September, an increase of 0.7% year on year. Among them, exports were about 2.17 trillion yuan, up 1.6% year on year, while imports were about 1.58 trillion yuan, dropping 0.5% year on year.
In January-September, the total value of imports and exports of goods stood at about 32.33 trillion yuan, up 5.3% year on year. Among them, exports were about 18.61 trillion yuan, up 6.2% year on year, while imports were about 13.71 trillion yuan, up 4.1% year on year.
The surveyed urban jobless rate came in at 5.1% in September, down 0.2 percentage points from August, according to the NBS. In January-September, the urban unemployment rate averaged 5.1%, versus 5.3% in the same months last year.
