Chinese economy

BEIJING, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- China said its economy grew at an 8.9 percent annual rate in the third quarter of 2009 and 7.7 percent for the first nine months of the year.

Li Xiaochao, a spokesman for China's National Bureau of Statistics, said Thursday "overseas demand is still weak" leaving the economy at a "crucial period."

But the economy is certainly moving up, he said.

That trend could lead Chinese officials to pull back on some simulative measures. Late last year, China said it would spend about $585 billion on infrastructure to keep the county's economy going in the face of a falling export market. That stimulus was credited with 88 percent of GDP growth, the BBC said.

The year-to-date rate of 7.7 percent is near to China's target of 8 percent GDP growth, which it says it needs to maintain stability.

By contrast, GDP in the United States was off 0.7 percent in the second quarter and third-quarter data, to be released next week, are predicted to show growth of about 3 percent.