Beijing  - China's gross domestic product (GDP) rose 8.9 per cent year-on-year in the third quarter of 2009, the government said on Thursday, meaning full-year growth is expected to reach 8 per cent despite a slowdown earlier in the year.

The economy was boosted by strong retail sales from July to September, with a rise of 15.1 per cent year-on-year, while the consumer price index, the main gauge of inflation, fell 1.1 per cent in the same period, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

The new figures meant that China's GDP grew 7.7 per cent year-on-year in the first three quarters of the year, the bureau said.

GDP rose 7.9 per cent in the second quarter after slowing to 6.1 per cent in the first quarter, the lowest quarterly rise since 1999.

The State Council, or cabinet, on Wednesday said China's economic development this year was "soundly beyond expectations" with a "consolidated" recovery from the effects of the global financial crisis.

After a meeting chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao, the State Council said the rebound was "thanks to the timely and all-round implementation of the government's economic stimulus package and other policies."

The government's 4-trillion-yuan (590-billion-dollar) infrastructure-centred spending package had promoted government-related investment this year, accompanied by a surge in new bank lending and continuing growth in domestic consumption, the World Bank said in a recent report. (dpa)