China posts slowest GDP growth in over a year at 4.6% for Q3

Stocks surge as central bank officially kicks off market-supporting measures

China is under pressure to reach its official full-year economic growth target of "around 5%." © AP

STELLA YIFAN XIE and WATARU SUZUKI, Nikkei staff writers

October 18, 2024 11:08 JST

Updated on October 18, 2024 17:40 JST

HONG KONG/SHANGHAI -- China's economy sank into a deeper funk in the third quarter, testing the leadership's resolve to rev up demand.

Gross domestic product rose 4.6% on the year in the three months through September, the National Bureau of Statistics said Friday. That was down from the second quarter's 4.7% growth, marking the slowest pace since the first quarter of 2023, when the country was emerging from three years of strict COVID-19 restrictions.