SHANGHAI, China (AP) — The Chinese economy expanded by just nine percent in the third quarter, the National Statistics Bureau said, its most sluggish pace in five years.

After years of straining to meet soaring demand for its exports, China is grappling with slowing demand as consumers in the US and Europe cut back on spending in the wake of the mortgage-debt meltdown. That poses an acute challenge for leaders in Beijing who are struggling to keep job-creating growth on an even keel.

China already is seeing protests by workers laid off or missing paycheques from the thousands of factories that have folded under the pressure of rising costs and slowing orders. Affluent city dwellers are feeling the pinch of sinking share prices and a weak housing market — sales of passenger cars fell 6.2 percent in August from a year earlier, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.