China’s economy grows 4.6 per cent in nine months; third-quarter growth 4.5 per cent

BEIJING: China’s National Bureau of Statistics announced on Monday that the country’s GDP grew 4.6 per cent year on year in the first three quarters of this year. According to preliminary figures released at a press conference organised by the Information Office of the State Council, GDP stood at 107.1071 trillion yuan in the period. China Daily has put the figure at 107.11 trillion yuan.

According to Arab TV, GDP grew 1.2 per cent quarter on quarter in the third quarter. According to China Briefing and the American Enterprise Institute, the bureau put annual growth in the third quarter at 4.5 per cent.

In trade, the combined value of imports and exports of goods in the first three quarters was 39.9399 trillion yuan, up 18.8 per cent year on year. Exports rose 16.4 per cent and imports rose 22.3 per cent. Trade with partner countries of the Belt and Road Initiative grew 17.1 per cent.

According to China Daily, industrial value-added output grew 5.5 per cent year on year in September, while retail sales rose 1.1 per cent.

Deputy head of the bureau Mao Shengyong said the preliminary total output of summer grain and rice was 179.04 million tonnes, which is 780,000 tonnes, or 0.4 per cent, more than last year. He said the autumn grain harvest was in good condition and a bumper crop was expected for the whole year.

Meanwhile, Derek Scissors of the American Enterprise Institute wrote that the 4.6 per cent growth rate for the first three quarters was unlikely to be accurate. He said growth in narrow money (M1), an indicator of the money used in transactions, was 5.1 per cent in the first quarter when GDP grew 5.0 per cent, but the M1 rate is now 3.2 per cent while GDP is reported at 4.6 per cent. He said official figures showed a 7.2 per cent fall in fixed investment, while a direct comparison with last year gives a fall of 10 per cent.