* China's GDP grew 4.5 percent year on year in the third quarter, higher than the second quarter's reading of 4.3 percent, supported by fast-growing new drivers and fresh policy support.
* New growth drivers continued to expand, contributing more than 40 percent to China's economic growth in the first three quarters.
* More foreign firms are embracing "China Opportunity 2.0," deepening their integration into China's industrial and innovation chains.
BEIJING, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- China's economy picked up pace in the third quarter (Q3) of 2026, supported by fast-growing new drivers and fresh policy support, staying on track to meet its annual growth target and remaining a leading engine of global growth.
China's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4.5 percent year on year in Q3, higher than the second quarter's reading of 4.3 percent, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Monday.
The world's second-largest economy generated about 107.11 trillion yuan (about 15.94 trillion U.S. dollars) in output during the January-September period, expanding 4.6 percent year on year, according to the NBS.
"The national economy forged ahead against pressure and continued to shift toward innovation-driven, high-quality development, with growing positive changes in major indicators," the NBS said in a statement.
China has consistently contributed around 30 percent of global economic growth, with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva saying in January that this contribution is expected to stay at roughly the same level in the coming years.
GROWING RESILIENCE
Noting that the GDP growth of 4.6 percent in the first three quarters is in line with the country's annual growth target, NBS deputy head Mao Shengyong told a media conference that the economy added 5.7 trillion yuan in output during the period, the largest increase for the same period in the past five years.
In the third quarter, GDP growth picked up 0.2 percentage points from the second quarter, while some international institutions expected major economies to grow more slowly in July-September compared to the April-June period, Mao said.
There was also a notable rise in momentum on a monthly basis. In September, value-added industrial output rose 5.5 percent year on year, 0.3 percentage points faster than in August, while the services production index gained 4.8 percent, up 0.7 percentage points from the previous month.
Retail sales of consumer goods grew 1.1 percent in September, 0.7 percentage points faster than in August, and the surveyed urban unemployment rate edged down 0.1 percentage points from August to 5.2 percent.
"Growth momentum showed signs of marginal improvement in September," said Wen Bin, chief economist with China Minsheng Bank, citing faster industrial and services output, a rebound in consumption and an initial stabilization of investment.
China will step up efforts to expand domestic demand, improve supply, and make macro policies more effective to sustain the positive momentum of innovation-led and high-quality development, Mao said.
To this end, China has recently rolled out a batch of new policies, including financial and fiscal support. "With existing policies being implemented faster and incremental policies gradually taking effect, the economy is expected to continue improving in the fourth quarter," Wen said.
NEW DRIVERS AT WORK
New growth drivers continued to expand, contributing more than 40 percent to China's economic growth in the first three quarters. Value-added industrial output rose 5.3 percent year on year, with equipment manufacturing up 10.2 percent and high-tech manufacturing up 14.3 percent. Output of industrial robots, lithium-ion batteries and 3D printing equipment jumped 29.1 percent, 39.5 percent and 62.5 percent, respectively.
Monday's data also showed that the services sector expanded 5.2 percent year on year in the first three quarters, with information transmission, software and IT services up 10.4 percent, and leasing and business services up 12.3 percent.
The shift is visible in the economic structure. Manufacturing accounted for 25.7 percent of GDP in the first three quarters, up 0.6 percentage points from a year earlier, while the share of high-tech manufacturing in the value-added output of major industrial enterprises rose 1.6 percentage points. Investment in intellectual property products climbed 9.3 percent.
Traditional industries are also moving up the value chain. In Jingdezhen, a ceramics hub in east China's Jiangxi Province, local producers have embraced 3D printing in pottery making, propelling the sector's output to over 100 billion yuan. Meanwhile, some coal mining companies have implemented smart monitoring systems for underground operations, increasing efficiency by 30 percent.
Green development is creating openings as well. The penetration rate of new energy vehicles in China has stayed above 60 percent for six consecutive months, while the country's energy consumption per unit of GDP fell 3.1 percent in the first three quarters.
"The foundations of the economy remain solid, while new quality productive forces, modern services and high-tech foreign trade are steadily taking root," said Zhu Qigui, associate director of the China Academy of Financial Research.
"As long as China continues to rely on innovation, reform and its vast market, the trend of moving toward new and better development will not change," the scholar said.
SHARED OPPORTUNITIES
A major trading partner of as many as 169 countries and regions, China saw its goods trade rise 18.8 percent year on year to 39.94 trillion yuan in the first three quarters. In September alone, trade grew 27.5 percent.
In the first nine months, exports of mechanical and electrical products climbed 23.7 percent and accounted for 64.3 percent of total exports, while intermediate goods made up more than half of all exports, reinforcing China's role as a stabilizing anchor for global industrial and supply chains.
In east China's Anhui Province, robotics manufacturer EFORT Intelligent Robot Co., Ltd. has continued to see growth in overseas orders this year, with a batch of its spraying robots set to be exported to Italy. The company's overseas revenue increased by more than 50 percent year on year in the first half of 2026.
Meanwhile, the company's client, German automobile giant Volkswagen, is shifting its strategy from "in China, for China" to "in China, beyond China," with cars produced in China already exported to the Middle East and Central Asia.
Foreign-invested enterprises in China remained active players in the January-September period, with their imports and exports rising 19 percent to 11.69 trillion yuan, a record high for the same period. Their trade in intermediate goods grew 27.4 percent to 7.9 trillion yuan, and their high-tech product exports jumped 42.1 percent.
More foreign firms are embracing "China Opportunity 2.0," deepening their integration into China's industrial and innovation chains, Mao said. ■
(Video editors: Hong Liang and Zhu Cong)
