1. Report Industry Investment Rating No information about the industry investment rating is provided in the report. 2. Core Viewpoints of the Report - In Q3, the economic growth slowed marginally, and there was still pressure on the price front. The actual GDP in Q3 increased by 4.8% year - on - year, and the cumulative growth from Q1 to Q3 was 5.2%. Achieving the annual 5% target is not difficult. However, the nominal GDP increased by only 3.7% year - on - year, hitting a new low since Q4 2022, and the GDP deflator was about - 1.02% year - on - year in the current quarter, indicating continuous price pressure [7]. - Industrial production showed resilience, and high - end manufacturing remained prosperous. In September, the industrial added value increased to 6.4% year - on - year, and the seasonally adjusted month - on - month growth accelerated to 0.64%. The export of technology - intensive products was an important increment, and the export delivery value turned positive to 3.8% year - on - year. The production of high - tech products such as automobiles (14%) and industrial robots (28%) maintained high growth year - on - year [7]. - The investment side continued to weaken, and the monthly declines in real estate, infrastructure, and manufacturing all widened. In September, the monthly fixed - asset investment decreased to - 6.9% year - on - year, and the cumulative year - on - year growth turned negative to - 0.5%, the weakest since August 2020 [7]. - The growth rate of residents' income and expenditure slowed down, and the effect of consumption subsidies may have weakened marginally. In September, the year - on - year growth rate of social retail sales decreased to 3.0%, slowing down for the fourth consecutive month [7]. - The economy in Q4 faces a high base, weak domestic demand, and external uncertainties. It is expected that the actual GDP year - on - year growth may slow down to about 4.5%, but the annual economic growth rate of 5% can still be achieved. Strong pro - growth policies may still need to wait. If external changes bring new pressure to the capital market, monetary policy may be intensified. It is expected that the bond market will continue to fluctuate and recover in Q4, and it is recommended to allocate the active bonds of 10 - year treasury bonds when the yield is above 1.75% [1][7]. 3. Summary by Relevant Catalogs 3.1 Event Description - In Q3, the economy slowed down marginally, and the economic data in September was generally weak due to the drag on the demand side. The actual GDP in Q3 increased by 4.8% year - on - year, basically in line with expectations, and the cumulative year - on - year growth in the first three quarters was 5.2%. In September, the year - on - year growth rate of the added value of industrial enterprises above the designated size rebounded by 1.3 pct to 6.5%, higher than the expected 5.2%. The year - on - year growth rate of social retail sales decreased by 0.4 pct to 3.0% compared with the previous month, lower than the expected 3.1%. From January to September, the cumulative year - on - year growth rate of fixed - asset investment decreased by 1.0 pct and turned negative to - 0.5%, lower than the expected 0.03% [4]. 3.2 Event Comment - **Economic Growth**: In Q3, the economic growth slowed down marginally, and price pressure persisted. The actual GDP in Q3 increased by 4.8% year - on - year, 0.4 pct lower than Q2, the lowest single - quarter growth since Q3 2023, and the quarter - on - quarter growth rate remained flat at 1.1%. The cumulative growth from Q1 to Q3 was 5.2%, and achieving the annual 5% target is not difficult. The nominal GDP increased by only 3.7% year - on - year, a new low since Q4 2022, and the GDP deflator was about - 1.02% year - on - year in the current quarter, showing continuous price pressure [7]. - **Industrial Production**: Industrial production showed resilience, and high - end manufacturing remained prosperous. In September, the industrial added value increased to 6.4% year - on - year, and the seasonally adjusted month - on - month growth accelerated to 0.64%. The export of technology - intensive products was an important increment, and the export delivery value turned positive to 3.8% year - on - year. The production of high - tech products such as automobiles (14%) and industrial robots (28%) maintained high growth year - on - year. In Q3, the industrial capacity utilization rate rose to 74.6%, a 0.6 pct increase quarter - on - quarter. The capacity utilization rates of industries such as automobiles, electrical machinery, and electronic communications increased, but some traditional industries such as the mining industry still faced over - capacity pressure. The year - on - year growth rate of the service industry production index remained flat at 5.6%, while construction activities were weak, and the year - on - year decline in cement production widened to - 8.6%, indicating a drag on the investment side [7]. - **Investment**: The investment side continued to weaken, and the monthly declines in real estate, infrastructure, and manufacturing all widened. In September, the monthly fixed - asset investment decreased to - 6.9% year - on - year, and the cumulative year - on - year growth turned negative to - 0.5%, the weakest since August 2020, and the decline in private investment reached 8.9%. All three investment sub - items deteriorated: 1) The year - on - year decline in real estate investment in the current month widened to - 21.3%, the year - on - year decline in sales area was - 11.9%, and the year - on - year decline in sales volume was - 12.4%. Although the new construction and completion areas improved marginally, the funds in place were weak, and real - estate enterprises lacked confidence. 2) The full - caliber infrastructure investment decreased by 8.0% year - on - year in the current month, affected by the limited fiscal space, and the investment in areas such as water conservancy and public facilities management declined. 3) Manufacturing investment decreased by 1.9% year - on - year in the current month. Weak terminal demand and the "anti - involution" phenomenon disturbed enterprises' willingness to make capital expenditures. The drag from construction and installation projects increased, and the implementation of physical work volume was slow. Weak investment became the core of weak domestic demand [7]. - **Consumption**: The growth rate of residents' income and expenditure slowed down, and the effect of consumption subsidies may have weakened marginally. In September, the year - on - year growth rate of social retail sales decreased to 3.0%, slowing down for the fourth consecutive month. Both commodity retail (3.3%) and catering (0.9%) weakened, especially the year - on - year growth rate of catering above the designated size turned negative to - 1.6%. The effect of the "trade - in" measure declined: the year - on - year growth rate of home appliance retail decreased from 14.3% to 3.3%, and the growth rate of cultural office supplies declined. Structurally, rural consumption (4.0%) continued to be stronger than urban consumption (2.9%), which may be because the decline in housing prices had a deeper impact on the wealth effect of urban families. In Q3, the growth rates of residents' income and expenditure slowed down simultaneously: the actual cumulative year - on - year growth rate of per - capita disposable income decreased by 0.2 pct to 5.2%, and the year - on - year growth rate of consumption expenditure decreased by 0.6 pct to 4.7%. The low - inflation environment affected consumer confidence. The urban surveyed unemployment rate slightly decreased to 5.2% in September, but as of August, the surveyed unemployment rates of the 16 - 24 - year - old and 25 - 29 - year - old labor forces were still high [7]. - **Outlook**: The bond market may have priced in the marginal slowdown of the Q3 economy. The economy in Q4 faces a high base, weak domestic demand, and external uncertainties. It is expected that the actual GDP year - on - year growth may slow down to about 4.5%, but the annual economic growth rate of 5% can still be achieved. Strong pro - growth policies may still need to wait. If external changes bring new pressure to the capital market, monetary policy may be intensified. It is expected that the bond market will continue to fluctuate and recover in Q4, and it is recommended to allocate the active bonds of 10 - year treasury bonds when the yield is above 1.75% [1][7].