There were no nasty surprises in China’s latest economic growth figures.
The world’s second largest economy expanded 6.8% in the third quarter compared with the same period a year earlier, government data released Thursday showed.
That number was in line with economists’ forecasts. Few analysts had expected any big surprises in Thursday’s data, since it coincided with the ruling Communist Party’s national congress, a major political event that takes place just twice a decade. The party has prioritized economic stability in the run up to the congress at which President Xi Jinping is expected to consolidate power as he begins his second five-year term.
China’s target for annual GDP growth this year is 6.5% or higher. The country was comfortably on track to achieve that goal already after posting growth of 6.9% in the first two quarters of the year.