China Delays Q3 GDP Announcement... 3.9% Growth 'Exceeds Expectations' (Comprehensive)

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Kim Hyun-jung] China's economic growth rate for the third quarter of this year recorded 3.9%. Although there were expectations that the announcement might be delayed due to results falling short of initial expectations, the figure exceeded market forecasts and showed a recovery compared to the previous quarter.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China on the 24th, the third quarter GDP was 30.7627 trillion yuan (approximately 6090.7069 trillion KRW), an increase of 3.9% compared to the same period last year. The cumulative GDP for the first to third quarters was 87.0269 trillion yuan, up 3.0% from last year. The third-quarter figure surpassed forecasts from Bloomberg (3.3%) and Reuters (3.4%).

By industry in the third quarter, the primary industry increased by 3.4% year-on-year, the secondary industry rose by 5.2%, and the tertiary industry grew by 3.2%.

The National Bureau of Statistics commented, "The third-quarter growth rate rebounded steadily," adding, "The principle of maintaining stability while pursuing development, efficiently coordinating epidemic prevention and control with economic and social development, and the requirements to prevent the epidemic, stabilize the economy, and develop safely have promoted the continuous recovery and development of our country's economy."

The GDP growth rate initially scheduled to be announced on the 18th was suddenly delayed a day before the planned date via the National Bureau of Statistics website. Since the scheduled announcement date was the third day of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (Party Congress), which decided Xi Jinping's third term as President, it was widely analyzed that there was a judgment not to dampen the mood with disappointing figures.

However, the released figures exceeded expectations and showed significant improvement compared to the second quarter (0.4%), but they are still far from China's original annual growth target of 5.5%. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected China's economic growth rate for this year at 3.2% on the 11th, and the World Bank presented a forecast of 2.8% in its report on the 27th of last month.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.