Index shows China new growth drivers thrive

BEIJING -- New development drivers are increasingly underpinning China's growth, with the internet-based industries adding to economic vitality, an index showed.

The new growth driver index, compiled by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), increased by 23.4 percent in 2019 from a year ago to hit 332, the NBS said.

With 2014 as the base year and 100 points as the base value, the index measures the vitality of new industries, new business forms and models with sub-indices covering the internet economy, innovation capability, economic vitality, knowledge level and industrial upgrade.

While all sub-indices climbed in 2019, the sub-indice for the internet economy surged 42 percent year on year, contributing 80.5 percent to growth in the index.

China has been restructuring its economy to rely more on innovation and consumption to achieve long-term growth.