BEIJING — China’s industrial value-added output will grow more slowly in 2018 as the economy shifts gear, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) predicted on Dec 25.

Industrial output is expected to grow at around 6 percent for 2018, retreating from the 6.5-percent expansion estimated for this year, according to the annual work conference of the MIIT.

Combined scale of telecom business will expand by 50 percent, and revenue from the internet industry will grow by 30 percent, the MIIT predicted.

Reviewing China’s industrial performance in 2017, the regulator took note of increasing innovation, gathering new momentum and continued integration between manufacturing and internet.

This year also saw quickened pace of industrial overcapacity cuts, with the steel industry outperforming the annual target of cutting 50 million tonnes of capacity.

For next year, the MIIT said it will place greater focus on improving the quality of the country’s manufacturing supplies and speed up the shift from traditional drivers to new ones.

Industrial output is used to measure the activity of designated large enterprises with annual turnover of at least 20 million yuan (around $3 million).