CHINA’S value-added industrial output, an important economic indicator, went up 3.7% year on year in July, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed yesterday.

From January to July, value-added industrial output rose 3.8% year on year, according to the NBS.

China’s industrial production recorded a steady recovery in the first seven months of the year, with the raw material sector posting a relatively fast expansion, Fu Linghui, a spokesperson with the NBS, told a press conference.

Among the three major sectors, the mining sector and the manufacturing sector expanded 1.3% and 3.9% in July, respectively, while the production and supply of electricity, heat, gas and water rose 4.1%.

Output of the raw material sector climbed 8.8% from a year ago in July, 2 percentage points higher than the growth rate a month earlier.

In a breakdown by ownership, the output of State-controlled companies, joint-equity firms and private enterprises went up 3.4%, 5% and 2.5% year on year in July, respectively.

In terms of products, the output of solar cells surged 65.1%, while that of new-energy automobile products rose 24.9%.

The industrial output is used to measure the activity of enterprises with an annual main business turnover of at least 20 million yuan (US$9 million) each.

(Xinhua)