BEIJING — China's value-added industrial output, an important economic indicator, went up 6.4 percent year-on-year in July as production demand continued to recover, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Aug 16.

The figure was up 11.5 percent from the level in July 2019, bringing the average growth for the past two years to 5.6 percent, NBS data showed.

In the first seven months, industrial output gained 14.4 percent year-on-year, resulting in an average two-year growth of 6.7 percent.

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

In a breakdown by ownership, the private sector's output increased 6.1 percent year-on-year last month, while the output of state-holding enterprises rose 7.2 percent.

The manufacturing sector's output climbed 6.2 percent year-on-year in July and the mining sector saw its output increase 0.6 percent, NBS data showed.

China's high-tech manufacturing sector continued fast expansion on the backdrop of the country's increasing resilience in innovation-driven development, NBS spokesperson Fu Linghui told a press conference.

Last month, the sector's output expanded 15.6 percent from the same period last year, with an average two-year growth of 12.7 percent.

China's manufacturing industry also saw the rapid development of new products in the period, with the output of new-energy vehicles surging 162.7 percent year-on-year, said Fu.

Previous NBS data also showed the purchasing managers' index for China's manufacturing sector came in at 50.4 in July, remaining in the expansion zone for the 17th consecutive month, despite disruptions to factory activities brought by high temperature and floods.

In the first half of the year, China's major industrial companies raked in combined profits of 4.22 trillion yuan, up 66.9 percent year-on-year. The expansion put the average H1 growth for 2020 and 2021 at 20.6 percent, according to the NBS.