Third quarter data: China’s economy is recovering

Surprisingly, China postponed the publication of important economic data last week. A growth rate of 3.9 percent for the third quarter has now been announced – this is more than analysts had expected.

A day after Xi Jinping was confirmed as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, the National Bureau of Statistics released relatively good economic data. Accordingly, the gross domestic product of the second largest economy in the world rose by 3.9 percent in the third quarter compared to the same period last year.

The Chinese economy has thus recovered faster than analysts had expected, after the economy was severely slowed down by strict Covid measures and lockdowns at the beginning of the year.

Release one week late

The economic data was originally due to be released last week. But the publication was surprisingly postponed. The authorities did not justify this step. Observers assumed that the decision was related to the party congress taking place at the same time, which ended at the weekend.

Economy suffers from zero Covid policy

Despite the upswing, China’s economy is facing several problems: the real estate industry is in deep crisis, demand and consumption are weak and the zero-Covid strategy with recurring lockdowns and travel restrictions is causing problems for the economy.

China will probably not be able to achieve the original goal of the Chinese state and party leadership of 5.5 percent economic growth this year. Most experts expect growth of around three percent. The World Bank expects only 2.8 percent. That would be one of the weakest growth rates in economic output for almost half a century.