China’s economic growth in the third quarter slowed to 4.9 percent year on year, data (link in Chinese) from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Monday, slightly below expectations.
The gross domestic product (GDP) expansion in the July-September quarter receded from 7.9 percent in the second quarter, and compared with 5.2 percent expected by Reuters.
That was the slowest pace since last year’s third quarter, when GDP also expanded by 4.9 percent. It also marked a further deceleration from the 18.3-percent jump in the first quarter.
In the first three quarters, the country’s GDP grew by 9.8 percent compared with a year earlier, with an average two-year growth of 5.2 percent, according to the NBS data.
By industries, in the first three quarters, the added value of the primary sector saw a 7.4-percent year-on-year growth, with an average two-year growth of 4.8 percent; the secondary industry grew 10.6 percent year on year, with an average two-year growth of 5.7 percent; and the tertiary sector showed a 9.5-percent year-on-year increase, with an average two-year growth of 4.9 percent.
In the first nine months, the total value added of industrial enterprises above the designated size grew by 11.8 percent year on year, or an average two-year growth of 6.4 percent.
The total retail sales for the first three quarters grew by 16.4 percent year on year, with an average two-year growth of 3.9 percent.
In the January-September period, the investment in fixed assets went up by 7.3 percent over that of last year, with an average two-year growth of 3.8 percent.
In the first three quarters, the total value of imports and exports of goods increased by 22.7 percent year on year, with the value of exports up by 22.7 percent and that of imports up by 22.6 percent.
