China's industrial output up 3.6 pct in first eight months

China's value-added industrial output, an important economic indicator, went up 3.6 percent year on year in the first eight months of this year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Friday.

In August alone, the country's industrial output rose 4.2 percent year on year after deducting the price factor, 0.4 percentage points higher from July. The output in August increased 0.32 percent month on month, according to the NBS.

In a breakdown by ownership, the output of state-controlled enterprises led the gains with a year-on-year growth of 5.6 percent in August, followed by joint-stock companies.

The production and supply of utilities saw growth of 13.6 percent year on year last month, outpacing the mining and manufacturing sectors.

Production and supply in the Chinese market rose steadily last month, said NBS spokesperson Fu Linghui, noting that"policies aimed at stabilizing industrial and supply chains and supporting production in key industries have had obvious effects."

In August, the output of 24 among the 41 major sectors posted year-on-year growth, with that of automobile manufacturing surging 30.5 percent.

In terms of products, the output of new energy vehicles soared 117 percent from the same period last year, while that of solar cells rose 21.6 percent year on year, the data showed.

Highlighting innovation and new business forms and products, Fu said China's new growth momentum continued to strengthen in August.

In the first eight months, the industrial output of major high-tech manufacturers rose 8.4 percent year on year, while investment in the high-tech industries jumped 20.2 percent, the data showed.

The industrial output is used to measure the activity of enterprises with an annual main business turnover of at least 20 million yuan (about 2.89 million U.S. dollars).