Value added at China's industrial enterprises above the designated size rose 5.5% from a year earlier in September, even as the National Bureau of Statistics of China (NBS) warned Monday of insufficient domestic demand.
The annual gain for those industrial enterprises accelerated from 5.2% in August. Manufacturing value added within the same group increased 6.0% in September from a year earlier.
Retail sales grew 1.1% year over year in September, compared with 0.4% in August. Sales excluding automobiles rose 3.9%, while results among larger retailers varied sharply by product category.
Among retailers above the designated size, automobile sales fell 21.2% from a year earlier, while telecommunications equipment sales rose 31.1%. The automobile figure covers sales at those retailers, rather than all vehicle sales in China.
Investment showed different results across the annual and monthly comparisons. Fixed-asset investment excluding rural households fell 7.2% in January through September from a year earlier, matching the decline recorded for January through August. The NBS also reported a 0.07% increase from August to September. The 7.2% figure compares two nine-month periods; the smaller increase compares consecutive months.
Property development investment dropped 20.6% over the first nine months from a year earlier, a steeper decline than fixed-asset investment overall. The cumulative investment figures remained negative despite the monthly increase.
Gross domestic product grew 4.5% from a year earlier in the third quarter, up from 4.3% in the second quarter, the NBS said. The bureau identified insufficient domestic demand as a continuing concern and called for measures to strengthen it.
