China's Q3 GDP grows 4.9%, above market forecast

China's economy grew at a faster-than-expected clip in the third quarter from a year earlier, official data showed on Wednesday, suggesting the recent recovery may carry enough steam to reach Beijing's full-year growth target.

Gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4.9 per cent in July-September from the year earlier, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed, versus analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 4.4 per cent increase but slower than the 6.3 per cent expansion in the second quarter.

On a quarter-by-quarter basis, GDP grew 1.3 per cent in the third quarter, accelerating from a revised 0.5 per cent in the second quarter, and the rate was above the forecast for growth of 1.0 per cent.

Thanks to a slew of policy measures in recent months, the world's second-biggest economy has started to show signs of stabilising, but a protracted property crisis, uncertainties over employment and household income and weak confidence among private firms pose risks to a durable revival.

The government has set a full-year 2023 growth target of around 5.0 per cent.