BEIJING - China's industrial output continued to see stable growth in May with faster transformation and growing new quality productive forces.

The value-added industrial output, an important economic indicator, went up 5.6 percent year-on-year in May, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Monday.

The official data said the equipment and high-tech manufacturing sectors in particular posted strong growth last month, with their output up 7.5 percent and 10 percent from a year ago, respectively.

On a monthly basis, the entire industrial output edged up 0.3 percent in May from the previous month. During the January-May period, it rose 6.2 percent year-on-year.

As the major growth driver, the equipment manufacturing sector contributed 2.6 percentage points of the entire industrial output growth, NBS spokesperson Liu Aihua noted, adding that services also picked up pace with the production index reporting a faster 4.8-percent increase

The industrial output measures the activity of enterprises each with an annual main business turnover of at least 20 million yuan ($2.81 million).

Commenting on the data, NBS spokesperson Liu Aihua told a press conference Monday that "90 percent of regions, 80 percent of industries and nearly 60 percent of products registered increases (in output) from a year ago".

ALSO READ: Digital shift in manufacturing given priority

As the major growth driver, the equipment manufacturing sector contributed 2.6 percentage points of the entire industrial output growth, Liu noted, adding that services also picked up pace with the production index reporting a faster 4.8-percent increase.

Liu said the innovation-driven manufacturing sector accelerated the intelligent and green drive.

The output of 3D printing equipment, new energy vehicles, and integrated circuit products last month increased 36.3 percent, 33.6 percent, and 17.3 percent year-on-year, respectively. The intelligent unmanned aerial vehicle industry surged 75 percent in output, and the production of intelligent devices for cars climbed 19.7 percent.

The new quality productive forces continued to grow, Liu said.

ALSO READ: Xi emphasizes need to develop new quality productive forces

Looking forward, Liu said China's industrial sector will gain more momentum in the rest of the year as expectations from businesses remain positive and their performance continues to improve, with effective policy support from the government.

In the first four months, the combined profits of major industrial enterprises rose 4.3 percent year-on-year to 2.09 trillion yuan, data showed.

Fixed-asset investment

Meanwhile, China's fixed-asset investment sustained stable growth momentum in the first five months of this year, boosted by government policies to increase effective investment, the bureau's data showed.

Fixed-asset investment rose 4 percent year-on-year from January to May this year, according to data from the NBS.

Thanks to the government's large-scale equipment renewal policies, the investment growth in equipment purchase accelerated, contributing 52.8 percent to the total investment growth, NBS spokesperson Liu Aihua told a press conference

The investment topped 18.8 trillion yuan during the period, the NBS said in a statement.

Investment in infrastructure construction rose 5.7 percent from a year ago, and manufacturing investment increased 9.6 percent during the period.

Investment in high-tech industries posted robust growth in the first five months of this year, rising by 11.5 percent from the previous year. In particular, investment in high-tech manufacturing and services expanded by 10.4 percent and 14.3 percent, respectively.

Thanks to the government's large-scale equipment renewal policies, the investment growth in equipment purchase accelerated, contributing 52.8 percent to the total investment growth, NBS spokesperson Liu said at the same press conference.

Investment in property development, however, fell 10.1 percent year-on-year during the January-May period, according to the NBS.

The data indicated that the country's real estate market was still in a state of adjustment, said Liu, noting that it will take some time for the effects of the government's property policy package to appear.

She added that China will work to speed up the fostering of a new development model for real estate and promote the high-quality development of this sector.

The implementation of new policies and measures to prop up the property market will gradually promote the steady and healthy development of the real estate market in the next stage, Liu said.

Excluding the property development investment, the country's fixed-asset investment climbed 8.6 percent during the first five months.

Retail sales

Meanhwile, China's retail sales of consumer goods, a major indicator of the country's consumption strength, climbed 4.1 percent year-on-year in the first five months, according to NBS data.

Retail sales during the period topped 19.52 trillion yuan, the NBS said.

Online retail sales jumped 12.4 percent year-on-year to nearly 5.77 trillion yuan in the January-May period, with online retail sales of physical goods expanding 11.5 percent and accounting for 24.7 percent of the total retail sales of consumer goods.

Online retail sales jumped 12.4 percent year-on-year to nearly 5.77 trillion yuan in the January-May period, with online retail sales of physical goods expanding 11.5 percent and accounting for 24.7 percent of the total retail sales of consumer goods

In May, retail sales of consumer goods expanded 3.7 percent year-on-year to top 3.92 trillion yuan, the data showed. Meanwhile, retail sales excluding automobiles went up 4.7 percent to over 3.53 trillion yuan.

Retail sales in rural areas expanded 4.1 percent year-on-year to 510 billion yuan in May, while that in urban areas increased 3.7 percent to over 3.41 trillion yuan.

In the same month, retail sales of goods rose 3.6 percent from a year ago to more than 3.49 trillion yuan, while catering revenue hit 427.4 billion yuan, an increase of 5 percent year-on-year.

Commenting on the data, NBS spokesperson Liu said that the country's market demand continues to recover.

Liu attributed the growth of retail sales in May to the May Day holiday, trade-in policies of consumer goods, and the initial result of promotions of the online shopping festival known as "6.18".

In the next stage, with large-scale equipment renewals and trade-in policies, the promotion effect will be further revealed, according to Liu.

ALSO READ: China pledges measures to boost domestic consumption in 2024

Home prices

On the country's property market, Moday's data indicated that major Chinese cities saw falling home prices in May.

The bureau said that 70 large and medium-sized cities recorded month-on-month declines in both new and second-hand home prices.

Prices of second-hand homes fell by 1.2 percent in first-tier cities, 1 percent in second-tier cities, and 0.9 percent in third-tier cities, the NBS said

In first-tier cities, namely Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, new home prices edged down by 0.7 percent. Meanwhile, second and third-tier cities registered declines of 0.7 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively.

Prices of second-hand homes fell by 1.2 percent in first-tier cities, 1 percent in second-tier cities, and 0.9 percent in third-tier cities, the NBS said.

Despite the falling prices, spokesperson Liu highlighted positive changes in the property market, noting that the year-on-year decline in sales of newly built commercial housing has narrowed in the first five months of the year.

ALSO READ: Housing oversupply remedy on agenda

Last month, China implemented a series of policies to support the property market, including reducing minimum down payment ratios, removing commercial mortgage rate floors for first and second homes, and establishing a re-lending facility for government-subsidized housing projects.

Liu said these measures will take some time to have an impact and the property market remains in the process of adjustment.

Natural gas production

The country produced 103.3 billion cubic meters of natural gas in the January-May period, up 5.2 percent from a year earlier

China's production of natural gas has maintained steady expansion in the first five months of 2024, the bureau said.

The country produced 103.3 billion cubic meters of natural gas in the January-May period, up 5.2 percent from a year earlier.

China's natural gas imports also posted fast growth during this period, NBS data showed. A total of 54.28 million tonnes of natural gas was imported in the first five months of 2024, up 17.4 percent year-on-year.

In May alone, the natural gas output expanded 6.3 percent year-on-year to 20.3 billion cubic meters, according to the bureau. 

ALSO READ: China's natural gas consumption up 11.9% in January-April

Coal and crude oil output

China's raw coal output fell 3 percent year-on-year to 1.86 billion tonnes in the first five months, while the output of crude oil totaled 89.1 million tonnes in the same period, rising 1.8 percent year-on-year, the official data showed.

From January to May, China's coal imports maintained fast growth, according to the NBS. China imported 200 million tonnes of coal during the period, up 12.6 percent from the same period last year, the data revealed.

But the crude oil imports edged down during the period, NBS data showed. China imported 229.03 million tonnes of crude oil in the first five months, down 0.4 percent year-on-year.

In May, the raw coal output stood at 380 million tonnes, down 0.8 percent year-on-year, but the decline was 2.1 percentage points narrower than in April.

Power generation

Meanwhile, the official data indicated that power generation of China's major electricity production enterprises went up 2.3 percent year-on-year in May.

Total power output of these firms reached 717.9 billion kilowatt-hours last month, according to the NBS.

A breakdown of the data revealed that the output of solar power soared 29.1 percent year-on-year, while that for hydropower rose 38.6 percent.

READ MORE: China releases 2024-25 energy conservation action plan

The output of thermal power and nuclear power shrank 4.3 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively, year-on-year, according to the bureau.