China's industrial output expands 5.6%

.China's value-added industrial output, an important economic indicator, expanded 5.6% year on year in the first 10 months, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Thursday.

The growth rate was flat with that in the first three quarters, according to the NBS.

In October alone, industrial output climbed 4.7%, down from 5.8% registered in September.

China's industrial output, officially called industrial value added, is used to measure the activity of designated large enterprises with annual business turnover of at least 20 million yuan (about US$2.9 million).

While short-term factors had led to fluctuations in some of the indicators, overall economic activities remained stable as reflected in growth, employment, inflation and international balance of payments, NBS spokesperson Liu Aihua said at a press conference.

"The trend of overall economic stability with signs of improvement has not changed," Liu said.

In a breakdown by ownership, the output of state-controlled enterprises went up 4.8%, that of joint-stock companies went up 5.4 percent, and that of overseas-funded enterprises increased by 2.1%.

The production and supply of electricity, thermal power, gas and water reported a year-on-year increase of 6.6% in October, the fastest among the three major sectors, which also include mining and manufacturing.

Manufacturing output rose 4.6% year on year, and mining output rose 3.9%.

High-tech manufacturing led the overall industrial output growth with an 8.3% increase last month.