China’s GDP grew 4.8% year-on-year in the third quarter, on par with market expectations, official data show, reports Caixin. The growth rate, announced Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), matches the average estimate from a Caixin survey of economists. It marks a further slowdown from the previous quarter, when growth slowed to 5.2% following an expectation-beating first three months. This takes growth for the first nine months to 5.2%.
After seeing growth of 5.3% in the first six months, analysts broadly anticipated faltering growth momentum for the second half of 2025, with global trade tensions a major concern.
After months of relatively stable relations between China and the US, tensions between the world’s two largest economies escalated this month, with US President Donald Trump threatening an additional 100% tariff on Chinese imports as China tightens controls on exports of rare earth minerals, which are vital to advanced tech sectors from new energy to defense.