China's value-added of industry rose 11 percent in 2009 from a year earlier, but the growth rate was 1.9 percentage points lower than 2008, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Thursday.

Compared with the corresponding period of 2008, growth of quarterly value-added accelerated from 5.1 percent in the first quarter of last year, to 9.1 percent in the second quarter, 12.4 percent in the third quarter and to 18 percent in the fourth quarter, said NBS director Ma Jiantang.

The value-added of industry increased 18.5 percent year on year in December, compared to year-on-year 19.2-percent growth in November.

China uses the value-added of industry to measure business activities of some 430,000 designated large enterprises, which have an annual turnover of at least 5 million yuan (732,064 U.S. dollars).

The industrial added value is a most important indicator to weigh China's industrial activities and the country's manufacturing-based economy.

The value-added of industry in western regions of the country grew 15.5 percent, outpacing the growth in central and eastern parts, which was up 12.1 percent and 9.7 percent respectively, Ma said.

China's economy realized a V-shaped recovery in 2009 and fulfilled the 8-percent growth target set by the government for last year. Ma attributed the recovery mainly to the implementation of the proactive fiscal policy and moderately easy monetary policy, as well as the stimulus package adopted by the government to cope with the global financial crisis.

The country's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 8.7 percent in 2009 from a year earlier. In the fourth quarter last year, GDP rose 10.7 percent year on year, accelerating from a quarterly growth of 6.2 percent in the first quarter, 7.9 percent in the second quarter, and 9.1 percent in the third quarter.