Where Data Tells the Story
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China’s economy grew by 4.8 percent in the third quarter of 2025 compared to the same period one year before, according to data released by China’s National Bureau of Statistics. This is slightly down from Q1 and Q2, which saw a growth of real gross domestic product at 5.4 percent and 5.2 percent, respectively. GDP refers to the total market value of all goods and services that are produced within a country per year and is adjusted for price changes, making it a useful indicator for economic growth.
While Q3 was in line with expectations, it was still the lowest China's growth dropped in a year while auspiciously hovering around the 5-percent mark since Covid recovery. The cooldown is partly due to the consumer sector, with retail sales continuing to slump. Fixed-asset investments also fell unexpectedly on year-to-date terms, dragged down by the country's ailing property sector.
China is currently in the midst of a real estate downturn and as part of the plan to counter this, Beijing has pushed to increase manufacturing. But with people less willing to spend, this has led to companies cutting their prices. China has also boosted its exports, as demand abroad is currently stronger, but this has triggered higher tariffs from countries trying to bolster their own markets, like the United States.
Prior to the Covid crisis, the Chinese economy had stabilized at an annual GDP growth of around 6 percent following a gradual slowdown from more than 10 percent growth in the first decade of the 21st century. The latest figures are still somewhat below this level.