BEIJING, Jan. 17 -- China's industrial production experienced accelerated growth last year, driven by the country's continued efforts to optimize and upgrade its industrial structure, official data showed on Friday.

China's value-added industrial output, an important economic indicator, rose by 5.8 percent year on year in 2024, accelerating from the 4.6 percent growth recorded in 2023, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

In December alone, the industrial output grew 6.2 percent from a year earlier and 0.64 percent from November, the data showed.

Kangyi, head of the NBS, told a press conference on Friday that the value-added industrial output in the fourth quarter of 2024 grew 5.7 percent year on year, up 0.7 percentage points compared to the previous quarter.

By sector, the value-added of mining increased by 3.1 percent, manufacturing by 6.1 percent, and the production and supply of electricity, thermal power, gas and water by 5.3 percent in 2024, according to the data.

The value-added output of the equipment manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing sectors grew at a faster pace than the average industrial production, rising by 7.7 percent and 8.9 percent, respectively, in 2024.

"China's industrial structure has continued to optimize and to be upgraded," Kang said, adding that high-tech manufacturing and equipment manufacturing accounted for 16.3 percent and 34.6 percent, respectively, of the total value-added industrial output in 2024, representing increases of 0.6 percentage points and 1 percentage point compared to 2023.

Industrial output measures the activity of large enterprises, each with an annual main business turnover of at least 20 million yuan (about 2.78 million U.S. dollars).

Despite growth in the value-added industrial output, industrial profits have narrowed. In the first eleven months of 2024, the total profits made by industrial enterprises above the designated size stood at 6.67 trillion yuan, down 4.7 percent year on year, the data showed.