China's rapid economic growth slowed slightly between July and September, due to slowdowns in Europe and the United States and inflation-fighting measures at home. The government's Statistics Bureau said the nation's economy grew at a 9.1 percent annual pace in the three months through September 30. It said the industrial output increased 13.8 percent in September from a year earlier, while fixed asset investment, which measure's government spending on infrastructure, rose 24.9 percent in the first nine months of this year. China's booming economy has been a major engine in the growth of the global economy, but the sovereign debt crisis in Europe and high unemployment in the U.S. have weakened demand for Chinese-made goods. Chinese policymakers have also taken steps to cool the economy, including a series of interest rate hikes and requirements that the nation's largest banks increase their cash reserves.