Xi Jinping: "China’s economy has strong resilience, great potential". Recent data signals it may be so

China's President Xi Jinping has tried to reassure investors that the country’s economy will keep growing despite a recent slowdown.

In a speech to a business conference on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Manila, the president said that his country is committed to reorganizing its economy and increasing the living standards of its people.

In the third quarter, China’s growth fell to a six-year low of 6.8% as Beijing tries to shift the economy away from reliance on investment and trade.

The slowdown, which has been unrolling for several years, has spread around the world, undermining growth in countries such as South Korea and Australia that have been big exporters to China.

Xi admitted that China’s vital signs are a concern and that it is facing "difficulties and challenges." But he also cited the fact the world's second largest economy is expanding much faster than Western countries even as it slows.

"China’s positive economic fundamentals and long term trajectory remain unchanged," he said. "China’s economy has strong resilience, great potential and ample room for maneuvering."

On the data front, official numbers signaled earlier that home prices in China increased for first time in over a year in October on an annual basis, which is a sign that a housing market is stabilizing and could help re-energize the economy.

A quick recovery in property prices, however, is unlikely due to high inventories in all but the biggest cities, forcing developers to slow the pace of or even suspend expansion to protect their cash flows.

Average new home prices climbed 0.1 percent in October from a year earlier, Reuters estimated from National Statistics Bureau(NBS) data out on Wednesday, reversing September's 0.9 percent fall, marking the first year-on-year gains since August 2014.

Even a modest rebound in a sector that accounts for 15% of GDP is a driver for an economy suffering from its weakest growth in 25 years.

The numbers drove higher Chinese real estate stocks with the Shanghai stock exchange property subindex jumping more than 4%. Greenland Holdings and Poly Real Estate advanced nearly 10 percent.

However, data released last week showed growth in property investment declined to its slowest rate since the global financial crisis, while new construction continued to show year-on-year falls.

Analysts thus consider that the authorities may reveal more stimulus measures, including tax breaks and downpayment cuts, before the year-end.