BEIJING, Oct. 20 (INP): China’s economy is on a course to faster growth, as its gross domestic product expanded at a robust 6.8 percent annual pace in the three months ending in September, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics. This is the ninth straight quarter that China has seen growth of 6.7-6.9 percent, maintaining medium-high growth and adding to evidence of further economic resilience, bureau spokesman Xing Zhihong told reporters. In the first three quarters combined, the economy expanded 6.9 percent year on year, holding steady from a 6.9 percent increase in the first half of the year. The economy is expected to comfortably beat the government’s 2017 target of around 6.5 percent and 2016’s 6.7 percent, which was a 26-year low. “The Chinese economy has maintained steady growth with a positive outlook in the first three quarters,” Xing said. “The sound economic expansion in the first three quarters has “further laid a solid foundation for achieving the annual development target,” Xing said. Economic structure and growth quality both improved, he said, and new growth engines are gaining steam as employment had expanded, consumer prices were stable, and the balance of international payments had improved. Growth in the service sector outpaced the overall GDP to reach 7.8 percent year on year in the first three quarters. Yesterday’s data also showed that total sales of consumer goods rose 10.4 percent year on year to 26.32 trillion yuan (US$4 trillion) in the first three quarters. The pace was unchanged compared with the same period of last year. “Consumption demand has become a main engine of China’s economic growth,” XingAHsaid, contributing 64.5 percent of GDP growth, up 2.8 percentage points from the same period of last year. INP/J/H/LK