China’s Lopsided Growth Puts Spotlight on Xi’s Five-Year Plan

China’s factories kept the country on track to reach this year’s growth target, powered by an export boom that’s papering over deeper vulnerabilities as leaders meet to chart the nation’s next half-decade.

The world’s second-largest economy grew 4.8% in the third quarter compared with a year earlier, slightly above estimates. That laid a “solid foundation” for achieving the full-year expansion goal of around 5%, the National Bureau of Statistics said Monday.

But look closer at the data, and the picture is far less reassuring. Chinese families are reluctant to buy more. Businesses are investing less. And the only ...