In the first three quarters of this year, the development of industry and information technology was stable on the whole, said the spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology at a regular news conference in Beijing on Friday.

In terms of industrial production, production capacity and output value have rebounded significantly. The utilization rate of industrial capacity rose to 75.6 percent in the third quarter, up 1.3 and 1.1 percentage points over the first and second quarters. In the first three quarters, the national industrial added value of enterprises above designated size increased by 4 percent year-on-year. In particular, the added value of electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing, automobile manufacturing, chemical raw materials and chemical products manufacturing has grown rapidly, and the growth rate has reached double digits.

At the same time, high-tech manufacturing and emerging industries and other new drivers of the economy are growing fast. In the first three quarters, the added value of the equipment manufacturing industry increased by 6 percent year-on-year, 2 percentage points higher than the average level of all industries, and its contribution rate to industrial growth reached 46.8 percent. Investment in high-tech industries increased by 11.4 percent. In the first three quarters, the exports of new energy vehicles, lithium batteries and photovoltaic cells grew 41.7 percent year-on-year.

The manufacturing purchasing managers index has risen for four consecutive months as of the end of the third quarter, returning above the growth-contraction line. Labor demand and investment willingness have rebounded too. With the gradual improvement of market demand, the producer price index is rising, which will promote the recovery of confidence and expectations.

That means both supply and demand are gathering momentum, and economic growth is expected to accelerate in the fourth quarter, despite some prominent external and internal challenges.

As such, the government should pay more attention to effectively implementing macro-policy regulation and control in a flexible and well-targeted way. The country should continue its efforts to expand domestic demand, stimulate the vitality of business entities, and promote sustained improvement of economic performance and stronger internal driving forces.

21ST CENTURY BUSINESS HERALD