BEIJING — China’s industrial output expanded 5.3 percent year-on-year in the first two months, narrowing from 5.7 percent growth in December 2018, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on March 14.

Deducting the Spring Festival factor, China’s industrial output expanded 6.1 percent year-on-year in the first two months, according to the NBS.

The industrial production was generally stable in the first two months with fast growth in emerging industries and new products, the NBS said in a statement.

Production in strategic emerging industries expanded by 10.1 percent, 4.8 percentage points higher than the general industrial output growth.

The output of new energy vehicles saw a surge of 53.3 percent year-on-year during the period, while solar cell production rose by 13.5 percent, NBS data showed.

Industrial output, officially called industrial value added, is used to measure the activity of designated large enterprises with an annual turnover of at least 20 million yuan (about $3 million).