Chinese official calls economy resilient but says recovery momentum is weak

what happened

China's economy is absorbing outside pressure and keeps expanding at a steady pace, yet its recovery base and momentum are still relatively feeble, a representative of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said on Tuesday at a press conference. The remarks came a day after third-quarter GDP figures published on Monday surprised to the upside, with exports growing strongly while households kept spending restrained.

Zuo Gang, deputy director of the NDRC's comprehensive national economy department, said the effect of external shocks is growing, and a gap between robust supply and weak domestic demand persists. He also pointed to uneven performance across industries. The agency is drafting an implementation plan for the strategy to boost domestic demand over 2026 to 2030 and aims to speed up its release and rollout.

why it matters

For markets the signal is mixed: strong exports support GDP growth, but weak domestic demand limits how durable the recovery may be. The domestic demand plan could become an important reference point for investors in Chinese assets, including the Shanghai Composite and the yuan.

market impact

Yuan and Chinese equities: strong exports support the economy, while weak domestic demand caps optimism

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