The Chinese economy expanded 7.4 percent in the three months ended in September compared with the same period a year ago. That's a tick below the full-year growth target of 7.5 percent and the lowest quarterly performance since the country grew 6.6 percent in the first three months of 2009.

By comparison, China grew 7.6 percent in the second quarter and 8.1 percent in the first quarter. Chinese growth has now weakened for seven consecutive quarters.

The slowdown in China is already rippling across the globe, sinking demand for commodities and eating away at profits for multinational corporations such as Coca-Cola and Caterpillar.

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