China's economy grew faster than expected in the latest quarter, powered by an export surge driven by artificial intelligence, according to official data.
Gross domestic product (GDP) rose 4.5% in the July–September period from a year earlier, up from 4.3% in the second quarter and above most analysts' forecasts, according to figures released Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics.
Over the first nine months of the year, GDP grew 4.6% year on year, according to preliminary data.
Although China's technology exports have surged amid the AI wave, growth in the world's second-largest economy remains constrained by weak domestic demand and a subdued property market.
The Chinese Communist Party has set a GDP growth target of 4.5–5% for 2026, potentially among the lowest in decades apart from the COVID-19 pandemic period.
China's exports rose more than 16% in the first three quarters, reaching 23.19 trillion yuan ($3.47 trillion), according to official data, driven mainly by strong demand for semiconductors and other technology goods.
Retail sales, a key gauge of domestic consumption, rose 1.1% year on year in September and 2.6% over the first nine months of 2026.
Industrial production, which reflects output in sectors such as manufacturing and mining, rose 5.5% in September, bringing the increase over the first three quarters to 5.3%.
Fixed-asset investment, which covers spending on property, plants and machinery, edged up 0.7% last month but fell 7.2% over the January–September period.
Zhiguo He, a professor of finance at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business who studies the Chinese economy, said that although China's economy is on track to meet its official target, Beijing will remain cautious about continuing to rely on export-led growth.
"I believe Beijing is getting the 4.5% it wants," he told Al Jazeera.
"A controlled, slow decline is the best Beijing can hope for," he said.
"Real estate is still contracting. This is what Beijing wants and it is a good thing, and Chinese households have adjusted their expectations accordingly."
