China's economic growth slows amid sputtering domestic demand

CHINA'S economic growth slipped below 5 percent in the third quarter of 2025, official data showed Monday, the slowest pace in a year in the face of trade headwinds and a stubborn domestic consumer slump.

- AFP

The data was released just hours before state news agency Xinhua announced the start of a closely watched four-day meeting in Beijing with top Communist Party officials focused on long-term economic planning.

It also comes ahead of in-person discussions later this month between top Chinese and US trade officials - as well as a potential meeting between presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.

Trump earlier this month threatened blistering 100 percent tariffs on Chinese goods from November 1, in response to Beijing's sweeping export controls in the strategic rare earths sector.