BEIJING (AFP) - China's economy continued to grow briskly in the first three quarters of the year, expanding at 9.4 percent with investment still strong and exports continuing to boom.
?
Growth for the third quarter alone was also 9.4 percent.

According to previously published figures, Gross Domestic Product (???? GDP) grew 9.5 percent in the second quarter and 9.4 percent in the three months to March.

"It's the same old story. There is not much of a difference from last year," said Morgan Stanley economist Andy Xie.

The third quarter outcome was marginally above forecasts for 9.2-9.3 percent from analysts who had predicted a moderate slowing as macroeconomic controls finally put the brakes on the torrid growth of the last three years.

National Bureau of Statistics spokesman Zheng Jingping said the world's fastest growing major economy was on target to meet full-year expectations but acknowledged problems continued to exist.

In particular, he highlighted the agricultural sector, continued "irrational" fixed asset investment, the foreign trade imbalance and slowing profits in the industrial sector.

"The nation's economy has continued to develop towards the target of macro-regulation as a good momentum of steady and rapid growth is maintained," he said.

"The goals in economic and social development set at the beginning of the year will be achieved for the whole year so long as we continue to implement in real earnest, macro-regulation policy and measures in the fourth quarter."

Earlier this month, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, one of China's key academic thinktanks, forecast full year growth of 9.4 percent before a slide in exports cools things down more significantly in 2006.

The OECD has forecast growth of nine percent this year for China and Zheng said this was feasible.

"The economy has grown by 9.4 percent in the first three quarters. So for the whole year, it is possible for the economy to grow about nine percent, or even more than nine percent," he said.

While the government has seen some results in its efforts to ease growth, fixed asset investment, which largely reflects government spending on infrastructure, continued to grow at 26.1 percent year-on-year in the nine months to September.

The data released Thursday also showed China's booming exports pushed the trade surplus up to 68.3 billion dollars in the first nine months.

Exports continued robust, rising 31.3 percent to 546.4 billion dollars while imports were up 16 percent to 478.1 billion dollars, the bureau said in statement, citing customs statistics.

China's emerging clout as an exporting nation has caused jitters in developed European and North American economies, with US and EU trade negotiators now a common sight in Beijing.

The consumer price index (CPI) rose 2.0 percent in the first nine months compared to the same period in 2004 but was only up 0.9 percent in September.

Industrial output was up 16.3 percent in the January to September period and up 16.5 percent in September alone, while retail sales grew 13 percent year-on-year to 4.51 trillion yuan (556.7 billion dollars) in the first three quarters.

?