BEIJING - China will aim for 8 percent industrial output growth this year, the top industrial regulator announced on Tuesday.

"Although the target is lower than in 2014, it is not a low target and it will take great effort especially as the economy has entered a period of slower growth," said Huang Libin, a senior official with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), at a press conference.

China's industrial output grew 8.3 percent in 2014, down from 9.7 percent growth seen in 2013, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Huang said the target took into account China's projected GDP growth this year, the new growth engine of the economy and the difficulties resulting from structural reform.

A housing slowdown, softening domestic demand and unsteady exports dragged down December's industrial output growth to 7.9 percent year on year, NBS data showed.

China uses industrial production, officially called industrial value added, to measure the activity of designated large enterprises that each have an annual turnover of at least 20 million yuan ($3.27 million).