Global Impact | China’s economy saw its slowest growth in more than a year. Can it still hit its target?

In this week’s issue of the Global Impact newsletter, we look at the state of play within the world’s second-largest economy

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A woman wearing a face mask shops in a clothing store in Beijing. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 2:00pm, 21 Oct 2024

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China’s economic-growth figures, it could be argued, are probably the most closely watched in the world. From quarterly data to the annual GDP, markets and investors wait with bated breath in advance of headline figures from Beijing’s statistical boffins.

And in the third quarter of this year, anticipation over how the world’s second-largest economy had performed was even more feverish after a round of stimulus measures was unveiled, sending markets into a frenzy.

The boffins, after much speculation, eventually confirmed on Friday that China’s GDP had grown by 4.6 per cent in the third quarter. The headline figure was largely in line with expectations but below the 4.7 per cent growth recorded in the second quarter.

Consensus from analysts was that the third-quarter figure kept China in the hunt to hit its annual growth target, helped out by some positive monthly data for September.

02:15

China sees slowest economic growth in over a year with 4.6% GDP in third quarter

With consumption a key driver for its economy, China’s retail sales rose in September by 3.2 per cent, year on year, compared with the 2.1 per cent growth seen in August.