Profits at Chinese industrial firms in September rose 10.1% year-on-year to 646.43 billion yuan ($96.34 billion), National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data showed on Tuesday, pointing to a firm recovery in the vast manufacturing sector from the coronavirus shock. The latest uptick marked the fifth straight month of profit growth, but slowed from a 19.1% increase in August. For January-September, industrial firms’ profits fell 2.4% on an annual basis to 4.37 trillion yuan, better than a 4.4% decrease in the first eight months. Liabilities at industrial firms rose 6.6% on year at end-September, the same pace as of end-August. China’s recovery has been gaining momentum following the sharp coronavirus-led downturn thanks to strong exports, pent-up demand and government stimulus, but weaker-than-expected gross domestic product growth in the third quarter highlighted pockets of weakness for one of the few drivers of global demand. ($1 = 6.7097 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Roxanne Liu and Ryan Woo; Editing by Kim Coghill)