High-tech, new industries, products lead industrial output surge in H1

China's industrial output, an important economic indicator, rose by 15.9 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2021, indicating steady momentum in industrial production, and underlining the strong performance of its high-tech manufacturing and innovation sectors, officials and experts said on Thursday.

The figure puts average H1 growth for the past two years at 7 percent, 0.2 percentage points faster than the two-year average of Q1 growth from the 2019 level, according to the NBS.

In the second quarter, industrial output rose 8.9 percent year-on-year. And in June alone, it rose 8.3 percent year-on-year, NBS data showed.

Industrial output data is used to measure the activity of designated large enterprises with an annual business turnover of at least 20 million yuan ($3.09 million) each.

From January to June, the industrial output of China's high-tech manufacturing sector grew by 22.6 percent year-on-year, putting the two-year average growth at 13.2 percent, NBS data showed.

Liu Aihua, NBS spokeswoman, said China's innovation capabilities continue to grow, with new industries and new products recording relatively fast growth.

Specifically, the industrial output of new energy vehicles, industrial robots, and integrated circuits increased by 205.0 percent, 69.8 percent, and 48.1 percent year-on-year, respectively, in the first half. Their two-year average growth rates all exceeded 30 percent.

Li Qilin, chief economist at Shanghai-listed Hongta Securities, said the data showed China's overall industrial production maintains resilience. The better-than-expected export performance and the recovering domestic demand have played an important role in supporting production.

The recovery of production in overseas countries has helped create strong demand for industrial robots and other production commodities. Meanwhile, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage in some countries, demand for pharmaceuticals also remained robust in June, Li said.

Liu Wenqiang, deputy head of the China Center for Information Industry Development, a Beijing-based think tank, said though international commodity prices have been rising in the past months, their impact on China's sprawling industries was limited, given the nation's strong industrial capacity and relatively sound industrial system.

From January to May, major industrial enterprises in China recorded a total profit of 3.42 trillion yuan, up 83.4 percent year-on-year, putting the two-year average growth rate at 21.7 percent.

During the five-month period, the profit rate of major industrial enterprises' operating income was 7.11 percent, marking an increase of 2.05 percentage points from the level a year ago.