China's economic growth picks up in third quarter, beating expectations

China's economic growth surged in the third quarter, reaching 4.5 percent year-on-year, exceeding forecasts and easing pressure on policymakers to provide more aggressive stimulus measures. The National Bureau of Statistics reported the GDP growth rate, which surpassed the 4.4 percent expected in a Reuters poll and marked an improvement from the three-year low of 4.3 percent in the previous quarter.

China had relied heavily on exports for growth this year, but domestic demand remains weak and trade tensions with the European Union are intensifying, posing challenges to the growth engine. The strategy of redirecting credit and resources from property to high-tech industries has resulted in a "two-speed" economy, where robust factory output and exports mask weak consumption and private investment.