China's National Bureau of Statistics has reported a year-on-year GDP growth of 4.6% for the third quarter, exceeding the 4.5% anticipated by economists polled by Reuters. Nevertheless, this figure marks a slight decline from the 4.7% growth observed in the second quarter. On a quarterly basis, an expansion of 0.9% was recorded in the third quarter, a modest increase over the 0.7% in the previous quarter. Despite these challenges, Sheng Laiyun, the deputy commissioner of the bureau, conveyed positive economic signals at a news conference, hinting at encouraging trends, as reported by CNBC’s translation.

Additional data released, notably in retail sales and industrial production, surpassed expectations, providing an optimistic outlook for the world's second-largest economy. As Beijing faces public scrutiny regarding its capability to meet its annual growth target of around 5%, experts like Tianchen Xu from the Economist Intelligence Unit suggest a more optimistic economic future. Xu emphasizes that while China's economy faces challenges, it remains manageable, particularly with the government's proactive measures to stimulate growth. The target of approximately 5% GDP growth for the year is achievable with enhanced stimulus efforts in the fourth quarter.

Over recent months, Chinese officials announced various measures aimed at revitalizing the economy, including a reduction in bank reserve requirements by 50 basis points. With consumer sentiment low and the property sector struggling, authorities have continued to implement stimulus actions throughout the month. The Finance Minister indicated potential for increased debt and deficit measures, though specifics on the package size remain unknown at this stage. In a latest move, the Housing Ministry expanded the 'whitelist' of real estate projects and vowed to accelerate bank lending for unfinished developments to reach a goal of 4 trillion yuan by year’s end, signifying substantial commitment to economic recovery efforts.