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Why the latest China GDP data could boost markets (for a change)

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With Beijing's official GDP target for the year set at around 7%, Saxo Bank's Head of Macro Strategy, Mads Koefoed, looks ahead to the release of Q3 Chinese GDP data. There will be an unusually high level of focus on the numbers because of market sensitivity to the state of the Chinese economy, the world's second largest. 

There's always been a sniff of suspicion surrounding Chinese GDP data. After all, the country is run by a one-party state with a top-down chain of command dictating annual targets. So there's more than a sense that China's statistics bureau is only too keen to please. 

Back in August, an overheated domestic stock market went into meltdown, fear spread through Western markets too amid increasing concerns that the pace of the Chinese slowdown was, in fact, faster than previously thought. However, if the Q3 numbers offer even a glimmer of good news then we may see the first positive Western reflection of Chinese economic performance in the second half of this year.