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Hong Kong CNN  — 

China’s economy expanded by 4.9% in the third quarter, compared to a year ago, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday.

The figure was higher than the estimate of 4.4% growth from a Reuters poll of economists.

On a quarterly basis, the economy increased by 1.3% in the July-to-September period, compared to 0.8% growth in the previous three months.

This is a developing story and will be updated.