BEIJING (Kyodo) -- China's economy in the July-September period grew a real 4.6 percent from a year earlier, official data showed Friday, with the pace of expansion slowing from the previous quarter amid a continued property sector crisis and weak spending.

The year-on-year increase in inflation-adjusted gross domestic product of the world's second-largest economy was below the country's 2024 growth target of around 5 percent. In the previous three months, China's GDP expanded 4.7 percent.

On a quarter-to-quarter basis, China's GDP in the July-September period rose 0.9 percent from the previous quarter, compared with a revised increase of 0.5 percent in the April-June period.

The National Bureau of Statistics said China's economy was "generally stable with steady progress," featuring a steady increase of production and demand and generally stable employment and prices. The effects of the government's stimulus policies "continued to manifest with major indicators showing positive changes recently," it added.

"However, we should be aware that the external environment is increasingly complicated and severe, and the foundation for sound economic recovery and growth still needs to be strengthened," the bureau warned.

In the first nine months of 2024, retail sales of consumer goods increased 3.3 percent on year, while investment in fixed assets, excluding rural households, rose 3.4 percent. But investment in real estate development dropped 10.1 percent.

Industrial production in China, dubbed the "world's factory," grew 5.8 percent. The total value of exports climbed 6.2 percent.