China Q3 GDP up 4.8% as exports lead, domestic demand weak

China's economy expanded 4.8 percent year on year in the third quarter, the slowest annual growth pace in a year, the government said Monday, as weaker domestic demand and trade frictions with the United States tempered activity in July through September. The quarterly result compares with 5.2 percent growth in the second quarter and leaves the economy on a path roughly consistent with Beijing's full year target of around 5 percent.

The National Bureau of Statistics reported GDP growth of 4.8 percent for July to September and 5.2 percent for the January to September period. On a quarterly basis, the economy grew 1.1 percent in the third quarter, slightly above some forecasts. The agency said the national economy has maintained steady momentum, citing stable employment and prices and the emergence of new growth drivers.

Beneath the headline, the data show a split between a resilient export sector and a softer domestic economy. Industrial output rose 6.5 percent year on year in September, its fastest pace since June, while exports rose 8.3 percent in September compared with a year earlier. Exports to the United States, however, fell 27 percent in September as trade tensions and...