China reported third-quarter growth data Thursday that met expectations, but was a tad lower than the second quarter's 6.9 percent expansion.

The country's National Bureau of Statistics said its third-quarter GDP growth was 6.8 percent compared to the same period last year, a day after President Xi Jinping made big promises for the country's economic future during a pivotal leadership meeting.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast China to post a modest drop from the second quarter, with GDP to have grown 6.8 percent in the July-September period due to the government's efforts to cool the property market and cut debt risks.

A statement from the statistics bureau painted steady but positive economic development in the first three quarters. It also highlighted challenges in a complex international environment amid structural changes domestically.

"We've seen the benefits of a synchronized global recovery in play. Exports have been quite buoyant versus last year and that has really given China quite a bit of buffer in terms of reducing the reliance on leverage expansion, reducing the reliance on fixed asset investment," said Helen Zhu, head of China equities at BlackRock.