The Chinese economy grew stronger than expected in the third quarter, rebounding slightly from the fallout from the hard coronavirus lockdown of the spring, but the economy remains challenged as leader Xi Jinping wins another five-year term.
China’s gross domestic product (GDP) for the three months ending September 30 increased 3.9% year on year, China’s National Statistics Bureau said Monday. The data was unexpectedly delayed during the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing.
China’s National Bureau of Statistics was supposed to release the closely followed GDP data on October 18, but abruptly announced a delay in releasing the data a day before its scheduled release. The Bureau of Statistics told the Wall Street Journal that the delay in releasing the data was due to “working arrangements”, without specifying. China has not explained the reason for the delay, but economists have largely speculated that it is to prevent GDP figures from diverting attention from the party congress, which is held every five years.
Economic performance improved in the third quarter compared to the 0.4% year-on-year increase in GDP in the second quarter. In the second quarter, major cities such as Shanghai are imposing epidemic lockdowns, resulting in business closures and millions of people quarantined at home, with some lockouts taking weeks or even months to finish.
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