China’s economy grew 6.8 per cent in the third quarter, slightly below the previous period but ahead of the government’s full-year target, offering a boost to President Xi Jinping’s effort to consolidate power at a five-yearly Communist party leadership transition that began on Wednesday.
Analysts have said that Mr Xi was determined to ensure strong growth in the lead-up to the party congress, where he will seek to install loyalists in key positions. In his opening speech on Wednesday, Mr Xi noted that gross domestic product rose Rmb26tn during his first five years in office, declaring that “China has seen the basic needs of over 1bn people met.”
With growth of 6.9 per cent through the first three quarters of this year, China is all but certain to exceed its full-year target of “around 6.5 per cent”. The economy is also poised for its first year-on-year acceleration in growth since 2010, following a 6.7 per cent expansion last year.