China’s economic growth slows to 4.8% in the 3rd quarter

China’s economy expanded 4.8% year-on-year in the July-September period, its weakest growth in a year, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday. The slowdown, compared with 5.2% in the previous quarter, highlights growing pressure for additional policy support to stabilise the recovery.

For the first nine months of 2025, gross domestic product rose 5.2% from a year earlier, keeping the economy broadly aligned with the government’s full-year growth target of around 5%. On a quarterly basis, GDP increased 1.1%, reported the Wall Street Journal.

Mixed signals across sectors

Economic indicators for September showed uneven performance across major sectors. Retail sales, a key measure of consumer spending, climbed 3.0% year-on-year, easing from August’s 3.4% rise and in line with forecasts. Industrial output grew 6.5%, up from 5.2% in August and stronger than the 5.3% expected.

Fixed-asset investment declined 0.5% in the first three quarters of the year, reversing a 0.5% gain in the January-August period, underscoring ongoing weakness in the property sector. Meanwhile, China’s urban unemployment rate edged down to 5.2% in September from 5.3% in August.

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The data suggest that while parts of China’s economy are showing resilience, sluggish consumption and property market troubles continue to weigh on overall momentum.