Industrial production in the first three quarters of this year has been a highlight of China's economic performance, said Sheng Laiyun, deputy head of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), on Friday.
Despite a complicated external environment and emerging domestic challenges, the Chinese economy has demonstrated generally stable performance, according to the official.
NBS data showed that the gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 4.8 percent year-on-year in the first three quarters.
Additionally, China's value-added industrial output, an important economic indicator, increased by 5.8 percent year-on-year during the same period in 2024, according to official data released on Friday.
Sheng said that industrial growth outpaced the overall GDP growth by one percentage point, supporting the country's economic growth in the first nine months and contributing close to 40 percent to the overall economic growth.
He mentioned several factors that supported the strong industrial performance in the first three quarters.
The official stressed that China's industrial base is solid, and the country is home to all over 500 categories of industry listed by the United Nations.
"Despite pressures from external challenges and domestic structural adjustments, China's industry has demonstrated strong competitiveness. Another contributing factor to this year's strong industrial performance is related to export. In the first three quarters, industrial export delivery value grew by 4.1 percent, while the exports of goods grew by 6.2 percent. These export products not only demonstrate our country's strong manufacturing and processing capabilities but also highlight the significant support that exports provide for industrial development,” he said.
In addition, Sheng highlighted that the growth of new driving forces and the development of new quality productive forces also play important supporting roles in industrial performance.
"In recent years, especially since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China has made great efforts to promote industrial structural adjustment and transformation and upgrading, driving the development of new quality productive forces in the industrial sector," he said.
Another important reason is the country's equipment renewal and trade-in policies, along with efforts to implement major national strategies and strengthen security capacity in key areas, said Sheng.
China's economy is expected to continue recovering in the fourth quarter, following signs of stabilization in September, according to the official.
Sheng said the 4.8-percent growth rate in the first three quarters came as a hard-won result achieved amid increasing external pressures and ongoing internal structural adjustments, and this growth highlights the economy's strong resilience and potential and lays a solid foundation for future recovery.
"From a broader perspective, I believe that the industrial sector will continue to maintain stable development momentum because the supporting factors I mentioned earlier are still in place, and internal driving forces such as new momentum and economic transformation will continue to strengthen. Especially, in the fourth quarter, as a package of policies is implemented, China's industrial economy will maintain a trend of stable development. Both quality and efficiency will be enhanced," said Sheng.
Strong industrial performance in first three quarters highlight of China's economy: official
Strong industrial performance in first three quarters highlight of China's economy: official
