China's economy accelerates on robust exports as domestic weakness persists

HONG KONG (AP) — China on Monday said its economy grew 4.5% for the July-September quarter from a year ago fueled by robust exports, moving closer to meeting its official annual growth target as the year nears its end and at a time when its trading partners felt an increased urgency in balancing their trade deficits with the country.The better-than-expected official data accelerated from the 4.3% year-on-year growth recorded in the April-June quarter, which was the slowest expansion in more than three years.For the whole year, Chinese leaders have set a growth target of 4.5%-5%, down from last year’s 5% expansion. Earlier this month, the International Monetary Fund trimmed its forecast for China’s 2026 economic growth to 4.5%, just meeting the lower end of Beijing’s goal.Strong exports lift economic growth, but domestic sluggishness remainsThe headline official growth figure is becoming “an increasingly poor indicator of how the broader economy is performing,” said Max Zenglein, Asia P