The country’s faster growth was largely fueled by increased bank lending, generous government support for exports and a 4 trillion yuan, or $585 billion, stimulus package that is spurring a dizzying array of building projects.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the rate of expansion jumped from 7.9 in the second quarter, which would put the nation on target to reach the 8 percent target that Chinese economists say is required to maintain healthy employment and social stability.
The United States economy, by contrast, shrank by a revised 0.7 percent during the second quarter, although third-quarter figures, when released next week, are expected to show a 3.1 percent annual rate of expansion.
The indications of strong growth in China, the world’s fastest-growing major economy, exceeded the expectations of government ministers.
“Investment played an important and positive role in maintaining relatively fast growth and reversing the slowdown,” Li Xiaochao, a bureau spokesman, said in announcing the figures. He said domestic consumption contributed to about a third of the growth.
Separate economic reports showed that retail sales and industrial output rose markedly in September, helping to offset the slump in exports, a mainstay of the Chinese economy, that has continued unabated for 11 months.
Even as China celebrates its rosy fiscal health, government economists have expressed some concern that liberal lending by the state-controlled banking system, which has given out a record $1.27 trillion in new loans this year, could require some reining in. Some analysts have warned that too much of that money has ended up in the stocks and real estate, fueling a 73 percent rise in property values in the mainland this year.
Earlier this week, the State Council, China’s Cabinet, said it would place greater curbs on a number of industries, including steel, cement and glass production, essential ingredients for the ongoing construction boom that some experts say has become overheated.
By ANDREW JACOBS
