In the first four months, value-added industrial output above designated size rose 5.6 percent year-on-year. Among major industrial categories, equipment manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing remained key bright spots, rising 8.7 percent and 12.6 percent year-on-year, respectively, both faster than overall industrial output growth.

　　Cutting-edge high-tech industries were also spotlight. For example, robot-related products witnessed a boom. The output of robot speed reducers - one of the three core components of industrial robots - grew by 38.3 percent year-on-year in April, while that of industrial robots and service robots grew by 15.1 percent and 12.3 percent, respectively.

　　Yet this is only an epitome of China"s fast development in high-tech industries in April - the added value of high-tech manufacturing enterprises above designated size increased by 12.8 percent year-on-year in April, contributing 52.1 percent to the industrial growth, according to NBS.

　　Investment in high-tech industries continued to grow at a relatively fast pace. In the January-April period, high-tech industry investment grew 6.1 percent, led by a 44.3 percent rise in electronic circuit manufacturing industry, a 28.8 percent increase in lithium-ion battery manufacturing, and a 20.9 percent gain in aviation manufacturing, NBS data showed.

　　Investment in high-tech services also increased by 10.5 percent year-on-year in the first four months. Among them, driven by the rapid development of AI, investment in information services rose by 18.1 percent, per NBS.

　　China"s economy is currently in a policy observation period. The key focus is on vigorously advancing high-tech manufacturing, building a modern industrial system, and promoting the transformation from old to new growth drivers, Wang Qing, chief macroeconomic analyst at Golden Credit Rating International, told the Global Times on Monday.