China's economic growth is in line with expectations in the third quarter. Fresh data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows China's Gross Domestic Product grew 6.7 percent in the June-September quarter. The growth rate remains unchanged from the previous two quarters. In the first nine months, industrial profits rose 6 percent compared with the same period last year.
Fixed-asset investment grew 8.2 percent, slowing down from the first two quarters. Retails sales grew 10.4 percent, slightly higher than in the first two quarters. Also in the first three quarters, international trade dropped 1.9 percent. The decline is narrowing from a 3.3 percent decrease booked in the first two quarters. Let's hear some official comments from the bureau spokesman Sheng Laiyun.
"Based on the main indicators, China's economic growth has been steady in the first nine months with some improvement and it is better than our expectations. The economy steadied with more positive changes, and the fundamentals are strengthening. We observe the macro economy from growth, employment, inflation and international balance. And these indicators suggest the economy is stable and there is also improvement," said Sheng Laiyun.