China's private and smaller industrial companies posted faster-than-average growth in industrial output during the first three quarters, an offical said Tuesday.

Industrial output of private, small- and medium-sized industrial enterprises jumped by 8% and 7.1%, respectively, with a 5.6% increase in the entire industrial sector, Huang Libin, spokesperson with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, told a press conference.

Industrial output, officially called industrial value added, is used to measure the activity of enterprises with annual business turnover of at least 20 million yuan (about US$2.8 million).

The industrial sector maintained overall stability, as the 5.6% increase in industrial output is within the government's annual target of 5.5% to 6% and the decline in corporate profits has slowed down, Huang said.

In the first eight months, the profits of China's major industrial firms dropped 1.7% and the decrease rate was 0.7 percentage points lower than that in the first half, data showed.

China will strengthen monitoring and analysis of economic development, expand domestic and overseas markets, effectively cope with the U.S.-China trade tensions by providing precise assistance to affected enterprises, and continue to improve business environment, Huang said.