Deputy Minister of Industry and Information Technology Zhang Yunming: Investment in emerging industries in the first quarter has shown good momentum.

Deputy Minister Zhang Yunming of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology stated at a press conference on the 21st that the momentum of improvement in the industrial economy continues to accumulate. In the first two months, profits of industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 15.2% year-on-year, with a growth rate 14.6 percentage points faster than last year. Small and medium-sized industrial enterprises above designated size have higher production and efficiency levels than the average level of industrial enterprises above designated size. Manufacturing investment has stabilized and rebounded, with a year-on-year growth of 4.1% in the first quarter, an increase of 3.5 percentage points from last year. Investment in emerging fields is showing good momentum, with double-digit growth in industries such as computer and office equipment manufacturing, and aerospace equipment manufacturing. In March, the producer price index for industrial products rose by 0.5% year-on-year, ending a 41-month consecutive decline; the manufacturing purchasing managers' index increased by 1.4 percentage points from the previous month, entering the expansion zone.