China's economy grew 4.5% in the July-September quarter.

This compares with a year earlier.

It was up from 4.3% in the April-June quarter.

That was the slowest growth in more than three years.

Strong exports drove the faster growth.

Growth reached 4.6% in the first three quarters.

Beijing's target for the full year is 4.5% to 5%.

That is down from last year's 5%.

Earlier this month, the International Monetary Fund cut its forecast.

It cut China's 2026 growth to 4.5%.

That is the lower end of the goal.

Dave Chia is an economist at Moody's Analytics.

He said domestic demand was weak.

He said trade grew strongly.

He said exports will likely stay strong.

But global trade barriers remain a risk.

China's domestic demand has been weak for years.

This is because of a long downturn in its property market.

Max Zenglein is from The Conference Board.

He said the main growth figure is a poor sign of the wider economy.

He said it hides big gaps across industries, regions and households.

Mao Shengyong is deputy head of China's National Bureau of Statistics.

He warned of challenges ahead.

He said the international environment is complex and changing.

He said domestic demand remains weak.

He said the base for steady improvement still needs work.

China is on track to beat last year's record trade surplus.

The record was $1.2 trillion.

Exports rose 36% last month.

The surplus from January to September was already $938 billion.

High U.S. tariffs have pushed China to look at Southeast Asia, Latin America and Europe.

Semiconductors and cars are driving export growth.

The cars include hybrid and electric vehicles.

The EU has a trade deficit with China.

It is more than $1.1 billion a day.

Chinese exports to the EU rose 16% in the first nine months of the year.

Eswar Prasad is a professor at Cornell University.

He said the world's second largest economy cannot rely on foreign demand to lift its growth.

He said China is now a drag on world growth.

He said it is no longer an engine pulling growth along.

Gary Ng is an economist at Natixis.

He said China can work with other countries on disputes.

He said China wants to keep its market access.

Lynn Song is an economist at ING.

She said trade imbalances will be hard to fix quickly.

Pan Gongsheng is the central bank governor.

He said Friday that China does not seek a large trade surplus.

He said China is committed to growing domestic demand.