Sector expected to maintain relatively stable growth this year amid rebound

China's industrial output, a key economic indicator, rose 3.6 percent year-on-year in 2022 as the country's rebounding industrial production continued to play its "cornerstone" role in enhancing economic growth, said officials and industry experts on Tuesday.

They added that the country's industrial sector is expected to maintain relatively stable growth this year with better market expectations.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday, the output from mining and manufacturing rose 7.3 percent and 3 percent, respectively, last year compared with the previous year.

Notably, high-tech manufacturing and equipment manufacturing output soared by 7.4 percent and 5.6 percent, respectively, which was 3.8 percentage points and 2 percentage points faster than overall industrial output growth.

"Last year, the industrial sector played an effective role as a cornerstone and contributed to 36 percent of GDP growth," said Kang Yi, head of the NBS, at a news briefing, adding that both China's overall industrial output and manufacturing output topped the world in 2022.

"In addition, the country has built the world's largest internet infrastructure with leading technologies. The industrial internet has also been widely applied in 45 major categories of the national economy," he said.

Specifically, the production of new energy vehicles, telecommunications base stations and industrial computers all witnessed year-on-year growth, registering increases of 97.5 percent, 16.3 percent and 15 percent, respectively, last year.

Last year, about 11.77 million domestic branded passenger vehicles were sold, said the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. Data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology showed that more than 2.3 million 5G base stations had been built by the end of 2022.

Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association, expects the penetration rate of NEVs will continue to grow rapidly this year, as the cost of NEVs has fallen faster than that of internal combustion vehicles in the country, and NEV sales have led the overall passenger car market.

In terms of the overall industrial economy in 2023, Wei Qijia, head of industry economy research at the State Information Center, said: "With gradual recovery of market confidence, the industrial economy in 2023 is expected to remain stable. Overall growth will see a steady recovery."

However, Wei also pointed out that more efforts should be made to boost domestic and overseas demand, especially for major manufacturing and foreign trade-dependent provinces.

"Big projects planned in the early stage are expected to be implemented as soon as possible to stabilize bulk consumption such as NEVs and smart home appliances. Some new industrial consumption should also be encouraged to boost market confidence," Wei added.

Wang Wenyuan, an official with the MIIT, said in an earlier interview that this year the ministry will vigorously develop key industries with high-tech, strong market competitiveness and great driving effects, like NEVs, this year.

Accelerated steps will also be made to expand effective investment in manufacturing, stabilize bulk consumption of automobiles and construction materials, and support industrial product exports to enhance economic growth, Wang said.