The gross domestic product of China has expanded 9.1 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, which is the slowest growth in more than two years for the world’s second-largest economy.

The GDP expanded by 9.1 percent year-on-year in the third quarter of the year, down from 9.5 percent in the second quarter and 9.7 percent in the first quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday. The economy expanded by 2.3 percent in July-September on a quarterly basis, NBS spokesman Sheng Laiyun said at a press conference.

As per the preliminary statistics, the country’s GDP touched 32.07 trillion yuan ($5.01 trillion) in the first nine months, up 9.4 percent year-on-year, Sheng said.

Naming the decline in GDP growth a “modest slowdown,” he said the country’s economic performance was “generally good” and had developed in line with macroeconomic steps taken by the government in the first nine months.

In spite of the challenges and uncertainties both at home and abroad, there is a great chance that China’s economy will maintain its stable and relatively fast growth in the coming period, boosted by the strong growth momentum, Sheng said.

The slowdown came as China’s trade surplus fell for the second straight month in September, dropping by 12.4 percent year-on-year to $14.51 billion due to sluggish global demand and rising costs in domestic markets.

Consumer inflation in China has been running at three-year highs in recent months and Beijing has been steadily tightening monetary policy over the last year in an attempt to rein in overheated growth and slow rapid price increases.

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