China's economic growth accelerates to 4.5% in third quarter

BEIJING: China's economic growth rebounded to 4.5 per cent year-on-year in the third quarter, beating expectations and easing the pressure on policymakers to deliver more aggressive stimulus measures to meet the annual target.

Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast 4.4 per cent growth in gross domestic product (GDP) from the same period last year, an improvement from the more-than-three-year low of 4.3 per cent in the April-to-June period.

Aiming for 4.5 per cent to 5 per cent growth for the whole year, China's top leaders had vowed to introduce effective new policies to support the economy as muted domestic demand and investment weighed on a broader recovery despite solid goods export performance.

Authorities recently expanded support ‌for home buyers and unveiled measures to steer cheaper credit into sectors including infrastructure and technology. They have refrained from releasing large-scale stimulus.

On a quarterly basis, GDP grew 1.2 per cent in the third quarter, surpassing expectations for a 1.1 per cent rise and compared with a 0.9 per cent expansion in the previous quarter.