China’s economy grew at a slower quarterly pace than expected, expanding 6.5 per cent in the three months ended September, as the country’s trade war with the US exacted a toll on exporters and manufacturers. The quarterly growth pace lagged the 6.6 per cent expected in a Bloomberg poll of economists, and was slower than the 6.7 per cent clip in the second quarter, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics in Beijing.