China’s economy grew more strongly than expected in the third quarter as the country bounced back modestly from crippling COVID lockdowns in the spring, though challenges remain as leader Xi Jinping consolidates control of the political apparatus for another five years, reports The Wall Street Journal.
China’s gross domestic product grew by 3.9% for the three months ended September 30 from a year earlier, China’s National Bureau of Statistics said Monday in a data release that was unexpectedly delayed as Communist Party leaders gathered for a key meeting in Beijing.
The statistics bureau was originally slated to release the closely watched figures on October 18 but abruptly postponed it the day before, citing unspecified “work arrangements.” The delay was never explained, though economists widely suspected officials of trying to avoid overshadowing the twice-a-decade conclave.