China's 2011 Industrial Output Growth May Slow to 11%

BEIJING, Jan. 25 -- China's industrial output growth may slow this year, said a senior official from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) Thursday.

The full-year industrial added value output could rise 11 percent, down 4.7 percentage points from the 2010 growth rate, Xiao Chunquan, deputy director of the MIIT Performance Inspection and Coordination Bureau, said at a press conference.

The slowdown was likely due to the risk of falling exports as pressure for the yuan's appreciation grew and global demand growth remained weak, as well as inflation, the financial problems of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and environmental restrictions, Xiao said.

He said the full-year industrial added value output last year rose 15.7 percent to 16 trillion yuan (2.43 trillion U.S. dollars), a sharp contrast from 7.72 trillion yuan in 2005.

From 2005 to 2010, the growth of industrial added value output grew over 11 percent on average annually, said Xiao.

Industrial value-added output measures the final results of industrial production, which are the value of gross industrial output minus intermediate inputs, such as raw materials and labor costs.

Secondary industry contributed 49.3 percent of China's annual economic growth last year, 9.3 percentage points up from a year earlier.