China's industrial value-added output will grow more slowly in 2018 as the economy shifts gear, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) predicted Monday.
Industrial output is expected to grow at around 6 percent for 2018, retreating from the 6.5 percent expansion estimated for this year, according to the annual work conference of the MIIT.
The combined scale of telecom business will expand by 50 percent, and revenue from the Internet industry will grow by 30 percent, the MIIT predicted.
Reviewing China's industrial performance in 2017, the regulator took note of increasing innovation, new momentum and continued integration between manufacturers and the Internet.
This year also saw quickened industrial overcapacity cuts, with the steel industry cutting more than the annual target of 50 million tons of capacity.
For next year, the MIIT will place greater emphasis on improving the quality of manufacturing supplies and speed up the shift from traditional drivers to new ones.
Industrial output is used to measure the activity of designated large enterprises with annual turnover of at least 20 million yuan ($3 million).
In the January-November period, combined industrial output grew 6.6 percent year-on-year, mildly slower than the 6.7 percent increase for the first 10 months of the year.
Corporate profits remained strong, with total profits of industrial firms above the designated size surging 23.3 percent year-on-year in the first 10 months.
