Dazhong Daily:

How did industrial production perform in January and February? Has the role of new drivers in boosting industrial production further strengthened? Thank you.

Fu Linghui:

Thank you for your questions. Industrial production was a notable highlight in the economic performance of the first two months of this year. Industrial production accelerated markedly in January and February, driven by more proactive and effective macroeconomic policies continuing to take effect, solid progress in implementing major national strategies and enhancing security capacity in key areas, the continued rollout of policies advancing a new round of large-scale equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-in programs, faster growth of new drivers, and stronger support from exports. The industrial structure has been optimized and upgraded, and the quality of development has continued to improve. This was mainly reflected in the following aspects.

First, industrial production continued to accelerate. In terms of growth rate, the value added of industries above designated size grew by 6.3% year on year in January and February, accelerating by 1.1 percentage points from December last year. By sector and product, most industries and products saw a pickup in growth. In January and February, 31 of the 41 industrial sectors posted faster growth compared with December last year, accounting for 75.6% of the total. Among the more than 600 key products monitored, over 350 saw their growth rates pick up compared with December last year, representing nearly 60% of the total.

Second, equipment manufacturing provided strong support. As mentioned earlier, in recent years, equipment manufacturing has become a key pillar driving industrial growth as both competitiveness and capabilities improve. With advances in industrial technology, China's high-end equipment manufacturing has maintained solid growth, with the broader equipment manufacturing sector seeing rapid growth. In the first two months, the value-added of equipment manufacturing enterprises above designated size increased by 9.3%, accounting for 33.5% of all industrial enterprises above the designated size. To be specific, the value-added of computer, communications and other electronic equipment manufacturing enterprises rose by 14.2%. That of the railway, ship, aerospace, and other transportation equipment manufacturing enterprises rose by 13.7%. These are all technology-intensive industries.

Third, some traditional industries were optimized and upgraded. Transformation and upgrading of traditional manufacturing industries progressed steadily, with new growth drivers gradually gathering momentum. In the energy sector, the value-added of the petroleum processing industry increased by 10.2% year on year in January and February, while the biomass fuel processing industry surged by 55.3%. In the chemical sector, the value-added of chemical fiber industry grew by 6.1%, with bio-based materials manufacturing up by 25.1%, contributing 30.1% to the overall growth of the chemical fiber industry. These figures indicated steady transformation and upgrading in traditional manufacturing industries as well as the emergence of new growth points in some industries.

Fourth, emerging industries grew faster. With the ongoing digital and intelligent transformation of industry, new growth drivers continued to expand steadily. In the first two months, the value-added of high-tech manufacturing enterprises above designated size increased by 13.1% year on year, and that of digital product manufacturing industry increased by 8.8%. The value-added of intelligent vehicle-mounted equipment manufacturing and smart unmanned aerial vehicle manufacturing grew by 46.3% and 26.6%, respectively. This indicates the expanding demand for intelligent products in China's industrial production. Driven by green transformation, the new energy and green materials industries showed strong momentum. In the first two months, the output of lithium-ion power batteries for automobiles increased by 28.4%, and that of lithium carbonate and bio-based chemical fibers rose by 29.3% and 11.2%, respectively. This reflects strong progress in new energy utilization and new material development.

Overall, industrial production accelerated in January and February, and new quality productive forces were fostered and strengthened, supporting high-quality economic growth. However, it must be noted that the impact of international geopolitical conflicts is still evolving, external uncertainties remain high, and the domestic market still faces an imbalance between strong supply and weak demand. Industrial production still faces considerable pressure. Going forward, efforts will be intensified to build a strong domestic market and step up the building of a unified national market. We will also deepen the integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation, and continue to upgrade traditional industries and nurture and expand emerging industries and the industries of the future. We will develop the modernized industrial system at a faster pace, and promote the sustained and sound growth of the industrial economy. Thank you.