China points to success on growth CHINA is on track to reach its official growth target for this year, allaying concerns that the world's second largest economy is heading towards a sharp slowdown. The economy expanded at a rate of 7.8 per cent annualised in the third quarter, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, which was an improvement on the 7.7 per cent and 7.5 per cent growth in the first two quarters. The result also met the expectation of most economists, who had forecast gross domestic product growth of at least 7.7 per cent for the past three months. The performance is likely to reduce financial market fears that the Chinese economy could experience a hard landing in the new few months. In Australia, the better-than-expected result helped extend the positive sentiment on the equity markets. The S&P/ASX 200 closed 38.4 points higher at 5321.5 and the All Ordinaries index gained 39 points to 5321. The Australian dollar last night was marginally stronger at US96.27c, while in Asia, the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges closed in stronger territory. ANZ's chief China economist Liu Li-Gang said the firmer growth was the result of a mini-stimulus package ordered by the Chinese government to maintain growth in the economy. Most of the stimulus was directed towards infrastructure and railways investment, and providing small business tax breaks. "Exports in China slowed significantly in September, which has dragged on growth, but the domestic growth remains robust and that is being supported by investment growth," Mr Liu said. The growth target was put in place by the new government led by President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang, who have confirmed that the economy was starting to recover from the weakness that emerged last year. It was also revealed yesterday that industrial production increased by 10.2 per cent, year on year, during September and fixed asset investment was up 20.2 per cent in the month, which was a slight slowdown from August. Retail sales in the past month rose by 13.3 per cent, below the financial markets' consensus forecast of 13.5 per cent. JPMorgan chief China economist Zhu Haibin said the Chinese economy was now in good shape, with growth returning over the past three months. "The rebound has been driven by a range of factors and the first of those is that policy has shifted towards stabilising growth over the past months," he said.