China's rapid economic growth eased in the latest quarter as the government tried to prevent overheating.

Growth declined to 9.1 percent over a year ago in the three months ending in September, down from 9.5 percent the previous quarter, data showed Tuesday. The government said that was in line with its plans to steer growth that hit 10.3 percent last year to a more sustainable level after China's stimulus-fueled rebound from the global crisis.

The slowdown comes amid Europe's debt crisis and high U.S. unemployment and might reduce China's contribution to global economic growth.

"The national economy generally carried good development state and kept moving towards the expected direction of macroeconomic control," the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement.

Beijing has repeatedly hiked interest rates and imposed curbs on construction and other investment to prevent runaway growth. It has promised to ease some bank lending curbs to help struggling small businesses but analysts expect it to maintain most of its controls.