BEIJING — China's industrial production expanded in the first two months of the year, with the high-tech manufacturing sector posting stellar performance, official data showed on March 15.

China's value-added industrial output, an important economic indicator, went up 7.5 percent year-on-year in the period, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Despite unfavorable factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic and a complex international environment, China's production demand registered relatively rapid growth, NBS spokesperson Fu Linghui said.

The output of the high-tech manufacturing sector jumped 14.4 percent year-on-year from January to February.

Specifically, the output of new energy vehicles logged a marked increase of 150.5 percent, while that of industrial robots and solar batteries jumped 29.6 percent and 26.4 percent year-on-year, respectively.

In a breakdown by ownership, the output of State-owned enterprises rose 5.9 percent from a year earlier, and the private sector's output increased 8.7 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 $3.14 million).

The purchasing managers' index for China's manufacturing sector came in at 50.2 in February, up from 50.1 in January.