China's economy cools

BEIJING, China (CNN) - China's red-hot economy slowed a bit in the third quarter of the year, economic officials said Monday.

China's gross domestic product for the first nine months of 2008 increased 9.9 percent - a declined of 2.3 percent from last year, China's State Council Information Office said.

China's gross domestic product - a measure of the value of a country's goods and services - went up 9 percent in the third quarter this year.

In 2007, China's economy grew by 12.7 percent.