An aerial drone photo shows a view of the Bank of China Financial Center in Shanghai, eastern China. Aug. 14, 2024. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)
BEIJING, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- The latest data from China’s statistics authorities showed that the country’s economy achieved stable growth in the first three quarters of the year, and efforts to achieve high-quality economic development continued to yield positive results.
China's gross domestic product (GDP) reached over 101.5 trillion yuan (about 14.3 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first nine months of 2025, up 5.2 percent from a year ago, according to the data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on October 20.
In the first, second and third quarters of 2025, China's GDP grew 5.4 percent, 5.2 percent, and 4.8 percent, respectively, year on year. On a quarterly basis, the economy expanded by 1.1 percent in the third quarter, according to the NBS.
Although China's GDP growth in the third quarter was 0.4 percentage points slower than in the second quarter, its pace still exceeded that of most other major global economies, according to Professor Wang Xiaosong from the School of Economics at Renmin University of China.
As for a super-large-scale economy like China, it is not easy to maintain such a stable growth trend, he said. China's economic fundamentals are good, and the pillars for the economy to maintain stable operation have not changed both in the short term and long term, he noted.
The NBS data also shows that in the first three quarters, China's agricultural, industrial, and service sectors kept expanding. The value-added of industrial enterprises above the designated size in China increased by 6.2 percent year-on-year, outpacing the growth rate of the other two industries. In September, the output expanded 6.5 percent year on year, with manufacturing and mining sectors both posting rapid growth.
Meanwhile, the value-added value of agricultural (plantation) and the service industry rose by 3.6 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively, as compared with the same period of last year.
In the first three quarters, the country's retail sales of consumer goods kept increasing steadily, up 4.5 percent year on year to nearly 36.6 trillion yuan (about 5.1 trillion U.S. dollars).
Data shows that during the period, the total import and export value of goods reached 33.6 trillion yuan, increasing by 4.0 percent year-on-year while manufacturing investment also increased by 4.0 percent.
Wang noted that the innovation-driven nature of the manufacturing sector has become highly pronounced, while policies aimed at expanding domestic demand and stimulating consumption have continued to deliver visible results.
In the first three quarters, the contribution of final consumption expenditure to economic growth reached 53.5 percent. At the same time, the year-on-year increase in core Consumer Price Index (CPI) has expanded for consecutive months, and the decline in the Producer Price Index (PPI) has narrowed for two consecutive months. "These economic indicators have all exceeded our expectations," he said.
However, it is worth noting that the country's economic development is still facing a number of risks and challenges, especially due to those external uncertainties. Therefore, more efforts are needed to further consolidate the fundamentals for economic recovery and improvement.
According to Liao Bo, Macro Co-Chief Analyst of Zheshang Securities, in the fourth quarter, broad-based infrastructure investment and manufacturing investment are expected to maintain relatively strong resilience among the "three key drivers," while consumer demand is also anticipated to recover steadily.
Additionally, on the fiscal policy front, the accelerated deployment of new policy-based financial tools and the allocation of local government debt quota limits from the central government will further assist local governments in supporting economic recovery and strongly enable them to achieve corresponding economic and social development targets, he said.
According to the spokesperson for the NBS, in the next phase, more proactive macroeconomic policies must be effectively implemented to stabilize employment, support businesses, maintain market stability, and anchor expectations. This will solidify the drive for high-quality development and promote sustained, sound economic growth.
(Edited by Li Xueqing with Xinhua Silk Road, lixueqing@xinhua.org)
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