China's GDP expands 4.8 pct in first three quarters

BEIJING -- China's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4.8 percent year on year in the first three quarters of 2024, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Friday.

The GDP reached around 94.97 trillion yuan (about 13.33 trillion U.S. dollars) in the January-September period, NBS data showed.

In the third quarter, the economy expanded 4.6 percent year on year and went up 0.9 percent on a quarterly basis, according to the NBS.

Despite a complicated external environment and emerging challenges at home, the Chinese economy has posted generally stable performance, Sheng Laiyun, deputy head of the NBS, told a press conference Friday.

"Positive factors driving a steady economic recovery accumulated and increased in September," Sheng said, stressing that most indicators on production and demand improved and market expectations also became better.

In a breakdown, industrial output climbed 5.8 percent compared with a year earlier in the first nine months, as robust increases were seen in equipment and high-tech manufacturing industries. The service sector reported continued recovery with a 4.7-percent increase in added value.

Consumption maintained an upward trend during the period with retail sales of consumer goods up 3.3 percent from a year ago. Fixed-asset investment rose 3.4 percent, spurred by vibrant capital influx into high-tech industries.

The job market was stable as the surveyed urban unemployment rate on average stood at 5.1 percent in the first three quarters, down from 5.3 percent a year ago. The nominal growth of urban and rural residents' incomes came in at 5.2 percent.

While there have been positive changes in major economic indicators, Sheng noted that the external environment has become more complex, and that economic recovery needs to be further consolidated.

More efforts will be made to strengthen the coordination of existing and incremental policies and push for the swift and effective policy implementation in a bid to achieve the full-year economic and social development targets, Sheng added.