Consumption and factory output figures beat forecasts, but a tumbling property sector remains a major challenge as Beijing races to revitalise growth.

China’s National Bureau of Statistics on Friday reported third-quarter GDP growth of 4,6 percent year on year, slightly exceeding the 4.5 percent expected by economists polled by Reuters.

China's economy in the July-September period grew a real 4.6 percent from a year earlier, marking the slowest expansion since the f