China's Q3 GDP grows 4.5% as AI-driven exports offset weak domestic spending
China's economy grew 4.5% year on year in the third quarter of 2026, up from the previous quarter but below the 5% expansion recorded from January to March, putting it at the bottom of Beijing's 4.5%–5% annual target, according to official data from the National Bureau of Statistics. The BBC reported that global demand for chips and other components used to build AI data centres helped lift high-tech goods sales by 14.3%, while battery and industrial robot production each grew more than 29%, partly offsetting weak household spending. Property investment fell more than 20% in the first nine months from a year earlier, and analysts cited weak domestic demand, trade tensions and uncertainty over AI investments as risks; Techmeme's summary states Q2 growth was 4.3%, a figure the BBC text does not give.
The report attributes part of China's growth rebound to AI-related hardware exports and data-centre demand, indicating that the AI infrastructure build-out is showing up in macro trade data, while also noting concerns over whether the large sums spent on AI infrastructure will deliver promised profits.
ByOsmond Chia
Business reporter
Updated 7 minutes ago
China's economic growth picked up in the three months to the end of September, rebounding from a three-year low as the artificial intelligence (AI) boom helped boost exports.
The world's second largest economy grew by 4.5% in the third quarter, up from the previous period but below the 5% expansion recorded from January to March, according to official Chinese data.
#China National Bureau of Statistics#Oxford Economics#Moody's Analytics#China