Official figures from Beijing show that China's economy grew at only 6 percent in the third quarter, its slowest pace since the early 1990s.

That fell just short of expectations of 6.1 percent.  It still wouldn't have been as much as the 6.2 percent of the previous quarter, but the government set a generous target range for full year growth at 6 to 6.5 percent.  All this comes amid the trade war with the US.

Beijing is seeking to fight the slowing trend and support the economy by boosting domestic spending and cutting billions of dollars in taxes.  Officials also reduced the level of cash that banks must hold in reserve, hoping to free it and provide a liquidity boost.

"The preliminary breakdown shows that services activity picked up but that this was more than offset by a slowdown in industry and construction," Capital Economics China economist Julian Evans-Pritchard told the ABC.  

"Despite a stronger September, pressure on economic activity should intensify in the coming months," he continued.  "Cooling global demand will continue to weigh on exports, fiscal constraints mean that infrastructure spending will wane in the near-term and the recent boom in property construction looks set to unwind."