China’s GDP growth edges up to 4.5% in third quarter of 2026
China's economy grew 4.5% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2026, slightly faster than the second quarter's 4.3%, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported. Growth for the first three quarters of the year averaged 4.6%.
The NBS put quarter-on-quarter growth at 1.2%, up from 0.9% in the second quarter. Gross domestic product reached 375,367 hundred million yuan in the third quarter, bringing the nine-month total to 1,071,071 hundred million yuan.
Among the three broad sectors, the tertiary (services) industry expanded fastest at 5.2% year-on-year, while the secondary industry, covering manufacturing and construction, grew 3.4%. The primary industry, made up of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery, rose 3.6%.
Within services, information transmission, software and information technology services grew 9.8%, and leasing and business services rose 12.9%. Manufacturing output increased 5.9%. Construction contracted 4.4% year-on-year, and real estate activity fell 0.4%, continuing a weak patch for the property sector.
Looking at the recent trend, year-on-year GDP growth has slowed gradually from 5.0% in the first quarter of 2026 to 4.3% in the second quarter before ticking up to 4.5% in the third.
This GDP reading is a broad gauge of Chinese economic momentum and feeds into expectations for commodity demand, the Chinese yuan (USD/CNY) and sentiment toward Asia-linked equity markets. Signs of a slowing secondary industry alongside resilient services growth may also shape views on industrial metals and energy demand tied to China’s construction and manufacturing activity.
Source: China NBS