ðŸ‡ðŸ‡° English, 19 October 2026, AI-fuelled export
China's AI-fuelled export boom masks economic woes
China's economy grew 4.5% in Q3, but domestic demand and energy costs weigh on growth
The world’s second-largest economy has charted a diverging path in recent years, with an AI-fuelled export boom masking the impact of a persistent real estate crisis and gloomy consumer sentiment.
Gross domestic product expanded 4.5 percent in June-September, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, just ahead of the 4.4 percent predicted in an AFP poll of economists.
Exports have been underpinned in large part by insatiable global demand for AI-related products including computers, semiconductors and data centre equipment.