Industrial added value in the first two months increased by 6.3% year-on-year, surpassing market expectations

[Caixin] In the first two months of 2026, despite a slowdown in the production of industries such as automobiles, industrial output grew rapidly driven by strong exports and the effective implementation of macroeconomic policies.

According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on March 16, from January to February 2026, the added value of industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 6.3% year-on-year after deducting price factors, representing a 1.1 percentage point increase compared to the entire previous year. Looking at the more trend-reflective month-on-month growth rate, industrial added value grew by 0.39% in January and 0.83% in February, indicating a marginal acceleration in industrial production.

The performance of industrial added value exceeded previous market expectations. A recent Caixin survey of 13 domestic and foreign institutions showed that economists’ average forecast for the year-on-year growth rate of industrial added value in the first two months was 5.1%, with a forecast range of 4.5% to 6.9%.

Fu Linghui, a spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics, stated at the State Council Information Office press conference that the rapid growth in industrial production mainly stems from improved domestic demand, strengthened export-driven growth, and the effects of macroeconomic policies. The growth of the equipment manufacturing industry contributed notably to the overall industrial growth, with added value in the equipment manufacturing sector increasing by 9.3% in the first two months, accounting for 47.4% of the total growth of industrial enterprises above designated size.