The value of industrial output in September reached 282.5 billion yuan (US$34 billion), the bureau said in a statement.

The growth was 1.1 percentage points higher than the previous month, it said.

For the first nine months of this year, the country's industrial output grew a year-on-year 12.2 percent to 2,248.7 billion yuan (US$270.9 billion).

Three major industries, including electronics and telecommunications equipment manufacturing and transportation equipment manufacturing, accounted for 36.7 percent of the output, the bureau said.

Output of mobile phone goods, personal computers and DVD players saw an average of 40 percent year-on-year growth in September, while colour-TV production went up 30.4 percent.

In all, 325,000 cars and trucks were produced in September, a rise of 35.1 percent over September 2001, the bureau said.

Zhang Xueying, a senior economist with the State Information Center, said the rapid growth in industrial output was partly because of increasing external demand resulting from a modest recovery in the world economy.

In September, exports produced by the industrial sector reached 182.3 billion yuan (US$22 billion), a year-on-year increase of 26.9 percent.

"The country's efforts to stimulate investment and consumption to expand domestic demand also contributed to the rapid industrial growth," Zhang said.

The rapid growth in industrial output is good news for China's economy as the industrial sector contributed about 60 percent to the gross domestic product, he said.

During the first half of this year, China's gross domestic product grew a year-on-year 7.8 percent. At the beginning of the year, the government set an economic growth target of 7 percent for 2002.

The target is achievable because domestic economic forces as well as exports will continue to have a great impact on the country's industrial sector and, in turn, the whole economy, said Hu Shaowei, another senior economist with the center.

And China will continue to fund vast infrastructure projects: "This will benefit heavy industries, which are expected to sell more goods such as steel and cement," Hu said.

More foreign investment should also flow into China because of the country's accession to the World Trade Organization, its steady economic growth and sound social order.

In addition, domestic consumption, which mainly benefits light industry such as air-conditioner and color-TV manufacturers, should continue to develop, economists predicted.

(China Daily October 16, 2002)