Official growth estimates
China's economy grew 4.5% in the third quarter from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said October 19. The preliminary estimate followed growth of 4.3% in the second quarter and 5.0% in the first.
The statistics bureau reported that increased 1.2% from the previous quarter. For the first nine months of 2026, GDP rose 4.6% from a year earlier at constant prices, which remove the effect of price changes.
The year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter figures measure different comparisons. The quarterly increase is not an annualized growth rate. The figures are preliminary official estimates and remain subject to revision.