BEIJING — China's value-added industrial output, an important economic indicator, went up 3.4 percent year-on-year in the first half of this year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on July 15.

In June alone, industrial output growth quickened to 3.9 percent year-on-year, expanding by 3.2 percentage points from that in May, according to the NBS.

June's figure put the average growth during the second quarter at 0.7 percent, after logging a 2.9-percent decline in April and a 0.7-percent rise in May, the NBS data showed.

"Equipment manufacturing, especially the automobile sector, saw a marked rebound, which played a significant role in boosting the overall industrial growth," NBS spokesperson Fu Linghui told a press conference.

Last month, equipment manufacturing accelerated its recovery pace with output growth of 9.2 percent, while the vehicle manufacturing sector reversed the 7-percent decline in May to rise by 16.2 percent.

Among the three major sectors of manufacturing, mining, and the production and supply of utilities, the mining sector's output showed the fastest growth, climbing 9.5 percent year-on-year in H1.

The high-tech manufacturing sector stood out with a year-on-year growth of 9.6 percent, 6.2 percentage points higher than the overall industrial output growth, according to the NBS.

Industrial exports maintained steady growth, Fu noted, citing that the delivery value of industrial exports grew by 15.1 percent in June, adding four percentage points compared with that in May.

In the second quarter, industrial production in central and western regions was generally stable, sustaining the industrial growth, Fu said.

Fu added that the situation in COVID-battered areas bounced back significantly. In June, the industrial output of Shanghai and Jilin climbed by 13.9 percent and 6.3 percent year-on-year, reversing May's decline of 30.9 percent and 4.9 percent, respectively.

In terms of products, the production of new-energy automobiles, solar cells, and mobile communication base stations surged by 111.2 percent, 31.8 percent, and 19.8 percent year-on-year, respectively.

The industrial output measures the activity of designated large enterprises with an annual business turnover of at least 20 million yuan (about $2.96 million).

July 15's data also showed that China's gross domestic product expanded 2.5 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2022, with the figure standing at 0.4 percent in the second quarter.