Daijiworld Media Network - Beijing

Beijing, Oct 20: China’s economic growth slipped to 4.8 percent in the third quarter of 2025, the slowest pace in a year, official data showed Monday. The slowdown comes amid trade headwinds and weak domestic consumer spending.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported GDP growth for July-September at 4.8 percent year-on-year, down from 5.2 percent in the previous quarter. Fixed-asset investment declined 0.5 percent, largely due to contractions in the real estate sector, while retail sales growth slowed to three percent in September — the lowest since November 2024. Industrial production was a relative bright spot, rising 6.5 percent, exceeding forecasts.

The slowdown coincides with a four-day Communist Party meeting in Beijing, focused on long-term economic planning, including the 15th five-year plan for 2026-2030. The plan is expected to address China’s reliance on exports, technological self-sufficiency, and domestic consumption growth.

China’s slowdown also comes ahead of renewed trade talks with the US, as President Donald Trump earlier threatened 100 percent tariffs in response to Beijing’s export controls on rare earths. Experts warn that China must shift its growth model toward domestic household spending to offset slowing exports and manufacturing.

Zhiwei Zhang, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, described the dip in investment as “rare and alarming,” while Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics noted that the growth pattern “is not sustainable” without stronger domestic demand.

The plenum, scheduled to conclude Thursday, is expected to guide China’s economic and social policies, addressing the twin challenges of slowing domestic consumption and a lingering real estate debt crisis.