BEIJING, June 16 -- China's industrial sector reported steady expansion last month as innovation-driven industries continued to offer strong growth momentum.

China's value-added industrial output expanded 5.8 percent year on year in May, official data showed on Monday.

The manufacturing sector saw its value-added output climb 6.2 percent year on year last month, with that of equipment manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing up by 9 percent and 8.6 percent, respectively, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

In the first five months of this year, the country's industrial output gained 6.3 percent compared to a year ago, the data showed.

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

With effective policy support and ongoing upgrades, the industrial sector maintained relatively rapid expansion last month, demonstrating strong resilience and potential, NBS spokesperson Fu Linghui told a press conference on Monday.

Fu highlighted robust expansion in high-end manufacturing, digital economy, and the new energy sector, all of which have propelled steady industrial transformation and economic growth.

Monday's data showed the production of 3D printing equipment, industrial robots and new energy vehicles surged 40 percent, 35.5 percent and 31.7 percent year on year in May, respectively. In the first four months of this year, the country's industrial profits amounted to nearly 2.12 trillion yuan, up by 1.4 percent from the same period in 2024.

Looking forward, Fu said external uncertainties and domestic challenges still exist and called for more efforts to support innovation-driven growth and make solid progress in high-quality development.