BEIJING — China's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 4.9 percent year-on-year in the third quarter of 2020, faster than the 3.2-percent growth seen in Q2, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Oct 19.

In the first three quarters, the country's GDP expanded 0.7 percent year-on-year, returning to growth after the 1.6 percent-contraction in the first half of the year and the 6.8-percent slump in Q1, the data showed.

Major indicators showed across-the-board improvements, with industrial output rising 5.8 percent and retail sales reporting the first quarterly expansion, up 0.9 percent year-on-year in Q3.