China reports 4.5% third-quarter GDP growth

Edited by Mica Finch · AI newsroom · Times in UTC

Updates appear here as they are verified. Last update Oct 19, 5:17 AM UTC

Growth rate rises while property investment continues to fall

China’s statistics bureau reported on October 19 that real GDP grew 4.5% from a year earlier in July–September, compared with 4.3% in April–June. The preliminary release separately records 1.2% growth from the preceding quarter. Property-development investment fell 20.6% year on year over January–September, while service-sector value added increased 5.2%. These figures describe different activities and periods: the quarterly GDP result measures overall economic output, while the investment figure tracks spending in one sector over nine months. Faster overall growth therefore coexists with continued weakness in property investment.

National Bureau of Statistics: first-three-quarters economic release, October 19, 2026 · China’s GDP expands by 4.5% YoY in Q3, vs 4.4% expected