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Industrial output sets to hit 10% growth in 2H

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-05-21 22:06

BEIJING -- China's industrial output growth is expected to exceed 10 percent in the second half of this year, buoyed by the government's stimulus package and growing domestic demand, according to a report released here Thursday.

"The overall situation in both heavy and light industries is turning positive," said the report jointly issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a government think tank.

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Heavy and light industries maintained slow but stable development in the first four months of this year thanks to the government's 4-trillion-yuan (US$586 billion) stimulus package and rising domestic demand, said the report.

Industrial output growth slowed to 7.3 percent year on year in April from 8.3 percent in March, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said. The figure for January-April was up 5.5 percent year on year.

For April alone, the output of heavy industry rose 6.9 percent year on year, while that of light industry expanded 8.2 percent, according to the ministry.

According to the NBS, output of heavy industry rose 4.5 percent during the first quarter, while that of light industry rose 6.8 percent.

Heavy industry includes mining, electricity, petroleum, chemicals, building materials, machinery and others, while light industry includes textiles, food, pharmaceutical sectors and others.

The government this year has also announced specific plans to support 10 industries, including textiles, petrochemicals and logistics.

"The rapid pace of decline in production in some regions and industries has slowed, while companies have become more responsive to the economic downturn and market fluctuations," the report said without elaborating.

Despite the optimistic outlook, the report also warned that the basis for a broad-based recovery was not on solid footing and many uncertainties and difficulties persisted because of weak export demand and overcapacity in the world's third-largest economy.