China's Economic Growth Picks Up as AI Boom Boosts Exports

3-line summary

• China's economy grew 4.5% year-on-year in the third quarter, up from 4.3% in the second quarter but below the 5% pace in the first quarter, rebounding from a three-year low; the figure sits at the bottom end of Beijing's 4.5%-5% annual growth target, the BBC reported.
• Exports, boosted by global demand for computer chips and other AI-data-center components, helped offset weak domestic consumption driven by a prolonged property slump, weak wage growth, and high youth unemployment; China's trade surplus is on track to exceed last year's record $1.2 trillion (£900 billion).
• In September, Beijing unveiled support measures including lower interest rates for some businesses and subsidies for property buyers; the report noted global trade tensions with the US and EU over cheap Chinese goods, along with uncertainty over whether companies making large AI-infrastructure investments can deliver promised profits, as risks to the outlook.

This summary is our own processing of the source article; see the source link below for full context.