Editorial | New GDP figures give China every reason to look on bright side
- Third-quarter growth of 4.9 per cent has put Beijing’s target for the year within reach, and as momentum builds doomsayers had best be quiet
Investors see the encouraging signs of a robust recovery. Sceptics say China is not out of the woods yet. But however you read the numbers for the latest gross domestic product, the doomsayers forecasting the sky is falling will at least have to keep quiet for a while.
The third-quarter GDP grew by 4.9 per cent year on year, beating market expectations as consumption picked up and industrial production stabilised amid government measures to revive growth. It exceeds the average consensus estimate of 4.5 per cent among economists.
It is also lower than the 6.3 per cent growth in the previous three months, but then the second quarter was compared with a low base in the same period last year.
Many analysts were surprised by growth as the economy regained momentum. Consumer spending increased on almost everything from dining out and alcohol to cars and overseas travel.
It helped offset a drag from the lingering real estate crisis, as property giant Country Garden faces the prospect of its first default on a US dollar-denominated debt.
The latest figures are putting Beijing’s growth target for this year of about 5 per cent within reach. That will mean roughly a year-on-year growth of 4.4 per cent in the fourth quarter to achieve the full-year target. There is cause for optimism.