The Chinese economy grew by 6.7 percent in the third quarter of the year, reassuring investors by remaining at the same pace as the previous two quarters.
The figure is slightly below last year’s annual growth of 6.9 percent, but within the 6.5 – 7 percent target given by the Chinese government for 2016.
The relative stability of growth over 2016 will be good news for investors, many of whom have been worried about the possibility of a slowdown in the world’s second largest economy. In January Chinese financial markets saw a period of severe instability, with trading being halted on several days after key markets fell over 7 percent.
Chinese markets maintained composure since January and there is evidence that government stimulus measures have led to some stabilisation in the economy. However debt remains a big issue, standing at 260 percent of GDP.
Real estate has held up the economy since January, data released on Wednesday showing at 5.7 percent increase in property investment. Property sales increased by 27 percent between January and September.
China’s National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement that “the general performance was better than expected.”
However, some economists have questioned the consistency of China’s growth figures. Julian Evans-Pritchard, an economist with Capital Economics Pte, told the Wall Street Journal:
“It’s quite implausible that growth would be 6.7 percent for three straight quarters. They’re obviously smoothing the data quite a bit.”