China Q3 GDP Growth Accelerates to 8.9%

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China's gross domestic product grew 8.9 percent year-on-year in the third quarter, driven by robust domestic demand and strong fixed-asset investment, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday.

The world's third-largest economy expanded 7.7 percent in the first nine months, with GDP totaling 21.8 trillion yuan (US$3.2 trillion), the NBS said.

GDP grew 7.9 percent in the second quarter and 6.1 percent in the first three months.

The third-quarter growth figure is slightly lower than the 9 percent average forecast by 21 economists surveyed by Caijing.

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NBS spokesman Li Xiaochao said domestic demand contributed 4 percentage points to GDP growth in the three quarters and fixed-asset investment contributed 7.3 percentage points, helping offset the impact of falling exports.

Li said he is confident China will achieve its 8 percent GDP growth target for the year, but the tasks of boosting domestic demand and adjusting the economic structure will be tough.

A relatively loose monetary policy and proactive fiscal policy are still needed to aid economic recovery, he said.

M2, the broadest measure of the money supply, rose 29.3 percent in the first nine months, after the central bank pumped a record 8.65 trillion yuan of new loans into the banking system.

Fixed-asset investment, which rose 33.4 percent in the first three quarters, will benefit the long-term development of the nation, because a lot of it went to the "weak links" of the economy in rural areas and the agriculture sector, Li said.

"In my understanding, China will maintain its policies," he said.

"However, there will be new difficulties and problems on the road ahead and we will enhance the flexibility of the policies," he said.

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His comments followed the release of a statement from the State Council on Wednesday, which said that in the coming months, China will give priority to maintaining growth, adjusting the economic structure and managing inflation.

"We don't have an inflation problem at the moment," Li said.

"However, we need to be aware of the month-on-month increases in the CPI and PPI, and the potential for inflation."

The consumer price index, a key gauge of inflation, fell 1.1 percent year-on-year in the first three quarters. The decline was smaller than the 1.2 percent drop in the January to August period.

The producer price index fell 6.5 percent in the three quarters.

Many economists have expressed their concerns about the possibility of inflation after property prices rose sharply in major cities and stocks rallied this year.