On a quarter-by-quarter basis, GDP grew 1.3% in the third quarter, accelerating from a revised 0.5% in the second quarter and above the forecast for growth of 1.0%.
"It seems that all of that stimulus is finally beginning to take effect, with a broad beat from growth, retail sales, industrial production and unemployment," said Matt Simpson, senior market analyst at City Index in Brisbane.
The economy faltered in the second quarter after a brief post-COVID recovery, dragged by a property downturn and huge debt due to a decades-long infrastructure binge.
The recovery momentum suggests the government's full year 2023 growth target of around 5.0% is likely to be achieved.
Growth of retail sales, a gauge of consumption, also beat expectations, rising 5.5% last month, and accelerating from a 4.6% increase in August.
Persons:
Tingshu Wang, Matt Simpson, Zhiwei Zhang, Ellen Zhang, Joe Cash, Kevin Yao, Shri Navaratnam
Organizations:
REUTERS, Gross, National Bureau, Statistics, Index, Analysts, Thomson
Locations:
Beijing, China, BEIJING, Brisbane