Beijing said on Monday it will delay the release of growth figures for the third quarter along with a host of other economic indicators expected this week.

The National Bureau of Statistics announced that the release of the economic data would be "postponed", without specifying a reason or timeline for the figures to be released.

The postponement comes as officials from the Communist Party meet in Beijing for their 20th congress.

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund had lowered its GDP growth forecast for the world’s second-largest economy to 3.2 percent for 2022 and 4.4 percent for 2023. (AFP)