China industrial output expansion better than expected: official

BEIJING -China's value-added industrial output, an important economic indicator, expanded 6.3 percent year-on-year in the first 11 months of 2018, higher than the 6 percent annual target, a senior official said Wednesday.

"Even if the industrial growth rate remained slow in December, China is able to ensure that its full-year target can be achieved," said Xin Guobin, vice-minister of industry and information technology, at a press conference.

China's industrial growth in December and for the whole year will be unveiled later this month by the National Bureau of Statistics.

Xin said that profits of China's major industrial firms grew 11.8 percent year-on-year in the first 11 months of 2018.

China has been keeping its industrial growth within a reasonable range and the actual result was better than expected, according to Xin.

Xin said China's value-added industrial output is expected to hit 30 trillion yuan ($4.4 trillion) in 2018, which will remain the highest in the world.

The country will maintain its leading role as a manufacturer of more than 220 major industrial products while enjoying the world's most comprehensive industrial system.

In the first 11 months of 2018, China's high-tech manufacturing sector grew 13.6 percent year-on-year, raising its share in overall value-added industrial output to 13.6 percent.

Industrial output, officially called industrial value added, is used to measure the activity of designated large enterprises with an annual revenue of at least 20 million yuan.