The industrial output stood at 254.7 billion yuan (US$30.7 billion) for the month, the bureau reported.

For the first two months of 2003, the industrial output climbed a year-on-year 17.5 per cent to 520.9 billion yuan (US$62.8 billion), it said.

Both the rates for February and for the combined first two months of this year were much higher than figures for January alone and figures for the whole of 2002, which were recorded at 14.8 per cent and 12.6 per cent respectively.

The sharp rise in industrial output was propelled by telecommunications equipment, computing and electronics equipment and transportation equipment industries, the bureau said.

During the first two months of 2003, the output of mobile telephones rose a year-on-year 86.2 per cent while that of computers soared 92.1 per cent, figures indicated.

Car production rose a year-on-year 140 per cent to 242,000, while the output of all vehicles rose 62.2 per cent to 627,000.

The two major industries contributed about 6.1 percentage points to the total figure for industrial growth, it said.

During the two-month period, export handled by the industrial sector reached 318.7 billion yuan (US$38.4 billion), a year-on-year increase of 31 per cent.

The industrial output figures released serve as an important indicator of China's economic development, contributing about 60 per cent to the country's gross domestic product.

Zhang Xueying, a senior economist with the State Information Centre, said this year, the domestic investment and consumption along with exports will continue to have a great impact on the country's industrial sector and the economy as a whole.

(China Daily March 12, 2003)