China's industrial production sustains growth with strong manufacturing performance

Value-added of its manufacturing sector went up by 6.9%.

China's industrial production experienced steady growth in the first two months of this year, fuelled by strong manufacturing activity and the ongoing impact of combined macroeconomic policies, government data said on 17 March.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the value-added industrial output—an essential economic indicator—rose by 5.9% year-on-year during the January-February period, surpassing the full-year growth rate for 2024 by 0.1 percentage point.

NBS spokesperson Fu Linghui highlighted that this overall industrial output increase, driven notably by the equipment manufacturing sector, was achieved even with a high comparative base from the same period last year.

Breaking it down by sector, the value-added output from mining grew by 4.3%, manufacturing increased by 6.9%, and the production and supply of electricity, thermal power, gas, and water rose by 1.1% during the period.

The equipment manufacturing sector saw a significant year-on-year increase of 10.6% in value-added output, representing a rise of 2.9 percentage points compared to last year's full-year growth rate, which bolstered overall stability in industrial production.

Fu noted that advancements in technology and industrial innovation, particularly in artificial intelligence and information technology, are increasingly driving industrial transformation and providing new growth momentum for industrial development.

The high-tech manufacturing sector performed exceptionally well, with value-added output climbing 9.1% year-on-year. Production of industrial robots surged by 27%, while the output of integrated circuit wafers increased by 19.6%, according to the latest data.

China's new energy industries also experienced significant growth, highlighted by a 47.7% increase in new energy vehicle production and a 37.5% rise in automotive lithium-ion power battery output compared to the previous year, Fu reported.

Industrial output is measured to assess the activity of large enterprises, each with an annual main business turnover of at least 20 million yuan (approximately 2.79 million U.S. dollars).