BEIJING, Aug. 15 -- China's value-added industrial output, an important economic indicator, went up 3.7 percent year on year in July, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Tuesday.

From January to July, value-added industrial output rose 3.8 percent year on year, according to the NBS.

China's industrial production recorded a steady recovery in the first seven months of the year, with the raw material sector posting a relatively fast expansion, Fu Linghui, a spokesperson with the NBS, told a press conference.

Among the three major sectors, the mining sector and the manufacturing sector expanded by 1.3 percent and 3.9 percent in July, respectively, while the production and supply of electricity, heat, gas and water rose 4.1 percent.

Output of the raw material sector climbed 8.8 percent from a year ago in July, 2 percentage points higher than the growth rate a month earlier.

In a breakdown by ownership, the output of state-controlled companies, joint-equity firms, and private enterprises went up 3.4 percent, 5 percent and 2.5 percent year on year in July, respectively.

In terms of products, the output of solar cells surged by 65.1 percent, while that of new-energy automobile products rose 24.9 percent.

The industrial output is used to measure the activity of enterprises with an annual main business turnover of at least 20 million yuan (about 2.79 million U.S. dollars) each.