(Yicai Global) Oct. 24 -- China's economic growth surmounted a number of unexpected adverse shocks in the third quarter to recover at a faster-than-expected pace, according to the latest official statistics.

Gross domestic product rose 3.9 percent in the three months ended Sept. 30, up from 0.4 percent in the second quarter, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed today. Chief economists polled by Yicai Global had predicted a 3.7 percent gain. In the first three quarters, GDP rose 3 percent from a year ago, up from 2.5 percent in the first half.

Though the world’s second-largest economy has stabilized, the NBS said, the foundations for a recovery are still not solid due to a more complex and severe external environment.

With the goal of keeping the economy operating within a reasonable range, the policy priorities for the next stage include striving to protect market players, steadying employment and prices, expanding effective demand, and stimulating economic vitality through reforms, it added.

The GDP data had been scheduled for release on Oct. 18, but was delayed until after the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China closed on Oct. 22.

NBS figures also showed that industrial output jumped 6.3 percent last month, up from 4.2 percent in August to beat the average 4.7 percent expected by the 16 economists surveyed by Yicai Global. In the third quarter, industrial output rose 4.8 percent from a year ago, compared with 0.7 percent in the second quarter. The nine-month figure was 3.9 percent, up from 3.4 percent in the first half.

Retail sales of consumer goods rose 2.5 percent in September from a year earlier, much slower than August’s 5.4 percent clip and the 3.8 percent forecast by economists. Third-quarter sales rose 3.5 percent, versus a 4.6 percent decline in the second quarter, the NBS said. The nine-month figure ticked up 0.7 percent to CNY32.03 trillion (USD4.42 trillion), compared with a 0.7 percent dip in the first half.

Fixed asset investment grew 5.7 percent in the third quarter, higher than the second quarter’s 4.2 percent. In the first nine months, it reached CNY42.14 trillion, up 5.9 percent on the year.

Editor: Futura Costaglione