The Chinese economy has slightly slowed in the third quarter, with a recovery in retail sales in September, but also ongoing problems in the real estate sector, data from the statistics bureau showed on Wednesday.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased by 4.9 percent in the period from July to September compared to the same period last year, the statistics bureau reported. In the second quarter, it grew by 6.3 percent.
Comparison with the period from April to June shows a strong acceleration of activity, from 0.5 to 1.3 percent.
Beijing has adopted a series of measures in recent weeks, boosting spending on public works and lowering interest rates to support the private sector. These measures have helped personal consumption, which rose by 5.5 percent in September, following a 4.6 percent increase in the previous month.
Industrial production also increased by 4.5 percent in September, the same pace as in August.
In the period from January to September, investment in fixed assets rose by 3.1 percent, almost at the same pace as in the period from January to August.
The real estate sector continues to hinder activity, with a decline in investment in the first nine months of this year by 9.1 percent compared to the same period last year. In the period from January to August, it decreased by 8.8 percent, the data showed.
The economy stumbled in the second quarter after a brief recovery following COVID, weighed down by falling real estate and massive debt due to decades of infrastructure burden.
