BEIJING — China's value-added industrial output, an important economic indicator, went up 3.5 percent year-on-year in the first seven months of this year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Aug 15.

In July alone, industrial output growth registered 3.8 percent year-on-year and it was 0.38 percent higher than the previous month, according to the NBS.

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 $2.97 million).