China's Economy Shows Resilience with 4. 6% Third-Quarter Growth

China recently announced that its economy grew by 4. 6% in the third quarter compared to the same period last year. This growth slightly surpassed the expectations of economists, who had predicted a 4. 5% increase. Although this growth rate is a bit slower than the 4. 7% growth seen in the second quarter, the country's overall economic performance in the first three quarters of 2023 has been positive, with a cumulative growth of 4. 8%. "September saw positive signs for the national economy, " said Sheng Laiyun, deputy commissioner of China's National Bureau of Statistics. Other economic indicators, such as retail sales and industrial production, also performed better than anticipated, indicating a hopeful trend for the world's second-largest economy. China has been under pressure to meet its annual growth target of around 5%. With the latest figures, the country is well on track to achieve this goal, especially if additional economic stimulus measures are implemented in the fourth quarter. Despite facing numerous challenges, the Chinese economy is showing signs of recovery. Tianchen Xu, a senior economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit, expressed optimism about the future. "China's economy is not beyond repair as some may think. There are reasons to be optimistic about growth in the coming years, especially given the government's commitment to supporting the economy, " Xu stated. In recent months, the Chinese government has introduced various support measures to boost the economy. These include reducing the cash reserves that banks need to maintain and expanding lending for unfinished real estate projects. The latest development is the Housing Ministry's announcement to increase funding for real estate projects to 4 trillion yuan ($561. 8 billion) by the end of the year.