BEIJING: The gross domestic product (GDP) of China grew 6.7 percent in the third quarter of 2016 on a year-on-year basis, steady from the first two quarters, the National Bureau of Statistics of China said.

The statistics show a stabilizing economy that helps rebuild confidence in the sluggish global economic recovery.

With China's economic growth in line with market expectations, "fears of a hard landing have eased this year," and the data painted a picture of an economy that is slowly stabilizing.

The Chinese government has targeted growth in a range of 6.5-7.0 percent for this year, and China will meet the goal.

"China's economic growth remained stable in the third quarter, all but ensuring the government's full-year growth target is met," Bloomberg reported.

In the past two months, the world has remained positive about China's economy.

The International Monetary Fund has slightly marked down 2016 growth prospects for advanced economies, while continuing to forecast China's economy would expand 6.6 percent this year and 6.2 percent in 2017. Financial services corporations have been more optimistic about China's economy.

Morgan Stanley raised the country's growth prospects to 6.7 percent from 6.4 percent for this year.

At the end of September, when Bloomberg surveyed 58 economists, their average expectation of 2016's expansion improved to 6.6 percent.

Over the past month, foreign financial institutions, including Standard Chartered Bank and Barclays Bank from Britain, and Commerzbank from Germany, have raised their 2016 growth prospects for China.