China’s economy grew by 5.2 percent year-on-year in the first three quarters of 2023, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced on October 18. This has set a solid foundation to achieve the 5 percent growth goal for the year, with a minimal 4.4 percent growth rate needed for the fourth quarter, said Sheng Laiyun, deputy head of the NBS.
All major indicators are showing robust improvement, Sheng said. The urban unemployment rate for the third quarter and September, standing at 5.2 percent and 5 percent, are both down on the same period of 2022. Foreign trade, though down by 0.2 percent over the first three quarters, is better than expected, Sheng noted. Services consumption grew quickly, posting a near 19 percent increase for the first nine months.
China’s economy is expected to grow at about 5 percent in 2023, well above the 3 percent projected growth for the global economy as a whole, and China will contribute about one-third of global growth, according to the latest projection by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on October 13.
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