China's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4.5 percent year on year in the third quarter (Q3) of 2026, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Monday.

The growth rate was higher than the second quarter's reading of 4.3 percent, the data showed. The country's economy expanded 4.6 percent year on year in the first three quarters.

The world's second-largest economy generated about 107.11 trillion yuan (about 15.94 trillion U.S. dollars) in output during the January-September period, according to the NBS.

"The national economy forged ahead against pressure and continued to shift toward innovation-driven, high-quality development, with growing positive changes in major indicators," the NBS said in a statement.

Noting the GDP growth of 4.6 percent in the first three quarters is in line with the country's annual growth target, NBS deputy head Mao Shengyong told a media conference that the economy added 5.7 trillion yuan in output during the period, the largest increase for the same period in the past five years.

In the third quarter, GDP growth picked up 0.2 percentage points from the second quarter, while some international institutions forecasted that major economies were expected to grow more slowly compared to the previous quarter, Mao said.

New growth drivers continued to expand in China, contributing more than 40 percent to the country's economic growth in the first three quarters, according to preliminary estimates. Value-added industrial output rose 5.3 percent year on year, with equipment manufacturing up 10.2 percent and high-tech manufacturing up 14.3 percent. Output of industrial robots, lithium-ion batteries and 3D printing equipment jumped 29.1 percent, 39.5 percent and 62.5 percent, respectively.

Monday's data also showed that the services sector expanded 5.2 percent year on year in the first three quarters, with information transmission, software and IT services up 10.4 percent and leasing and business services up 12.3 percent.

Goods imports and exports rose 18.8 percent year on year to 39.94 trillion yuan in the first three quarters, with imports up 22.3 percent. In September alone, trade grew 27.5 percent.

The surveyed urban unemployment rate averaged 5.2 percent in the first three quarters, unchanged from a year earlier, while September figure stood at 5.2 percent, down 0.1 percentage points from August. In the first nine months, per capita disposable income rose 5.3 percent nominally and 4.4 percent in real terms year on year.

In the first three quarters, retail sales of consumer goods rose 1.1 percent year on year, while retail sales of services grew 5 percent. Mao added that energy consumption per unit of GDP fell 3.1 percent during the period.

China will step up efforts to expand domestic demand, improve supply and make macro policies more effective to sustain the positive momentum of innovation-led and high-quality development, the official said.