China's economy grew 7.4 percent in the July-September quarter from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday, the slowest pace since the first quarter of 2009 as the global financial crisis raged.
The data was in line with market expectations in the consensus Reuters poll forecast for a 7.4 percent expansion.
It marked the seventh consecutive quarter of slower growth and compared with an annual growth of 7.6 percent in the second quarter.
Other data released alongside GDP showed fixed asset investment growth was 20.5 p ercent in the year to September versus the 20.2 percent forecast in the Reuters poll.
Industrial output grew 9.2 percent versus expectations of 9.0 percent and retail sales in September rose 14.2 p ercent on a year ago versus an estimated 13.2 percent in a Reuters poll.
