China’s booming export sector has powered the Chinese economy through another quarter of above-double-digit growth, offsetting a fall in investment expansion on the back of a government campaign to rein in credit growth.

The National Bureau of Statistics said the economy expanded by 10.4 per cent in the third quarter, down from 11.3 per cent in the previous quarter but enough to ensure that growth will exceed 10 per cent for the fourth year in a row.