Fast growth was registered in industrial production. In 2003, the total added value of the industrial sector was 5,361.2 billion yuan, up 12.6 percent over the previous year. The added value of industrial enterprises above the designated size (i.e. all state-owned enterprises and those non-state-owned enterprises with an annual sales revenue over 5 million yuan) was up 17 percent. The sales rate of industrial enterprises was 98.1 percent, 0.1 percentage point higher than in the previous year.

Fairly fast growth was seen in hi-tech industry. Of the total industrial enterprises above the designated size, the added value of the hi-tech industry was up 20.6 percent over the previous year. The output of optical telecommunications facilities, program-controlled switchboards, mobile telephones and microcomputers increased 25.9 percent to 120 percent.

Energy production sped up. The total output of primary energy reached 1.6 billion tons of standard coal equivalent, up 11 percent over the previous year. The electricity generated for the whole year was 1,910.76 billion kwh, up 15.5 percent. The output of coal was 1.67 billion tons, up 15 percent. The output of crude oil reached 170 million tons, up 1.8 percent.

The production of major raw materials grew fast. In 2003, the added value of the smelting and pressing of ferrous metals was up 22.6 percent over the previous year; that of the nonferrous metals was up 18.1 percent; that of the raw chemical materials and chemical products was up 14.1 percent; and that of nonmetal mineral products was up 16.6 percent. In terms of different products, the output of steel stood at 222 million tons, up 21.9 percent; and that of rolled steel was 241 million tons, up 25.3 percent. The production of 10 kinds of nonferrous metals went up by 19.1 percent, while that of aluminum oxide was up 11.2 percent. The growth was 7.7 percent for caustic soda and 18.9 percent for cement.

The automobile industry saw a strong momentum of growth. In 2003, the added value of the transport equipment manufacturing industry increased 22 percent. The output of vehicles was 4.44 million, up 36.7 percent. Of this total the output of cars reached 2.02 million, up 85 percent.

In 2003, the number of carmakers in China grew to 32, an increase of 12 over 2002. Of them, eight had production of over 100,000 cars, compared with five in 2002.

Economic efficiency of the industrial sector improved significantly. The total profits made by industrial enterprises above the designated size stood at 815.2 billion yuan during the year, up 42.7 percent over the previous year. Of the total, the profits of state-owned and state-controlled enterprises stood at 378.4 billion yuan, up 45.2 percent; those of the collective enterprises were 48 billion yuan, up 31.4 percent. The profits of joint-stock enterprises reached 376.46 billion yuan, up 46 percent; and those of foreign-invested enterprises and enterprises invested by people from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan stood at 268.05 billion yuan, up 40.5 percent. The total losses of loss-suffering enterprises were down by 1.9 percent. The proportion of profit-making industries increased noticeably. Thirty-eight out of the 39 branches of industries enjoyed growth in profits. The increased profits of the following branches combined to account for 48.7 percent of the total increase of profits by the industrial sector: petroleum and natural gas extraction, transport equipment manufacturing, smelting and pressing of ferrous metals, chemical industry and power industry.

The construction industry maintained fast growth. In 2003, the added value of construction enterprises in China was 816.6 billion yuan, up 11.9 percent over the previous year. The profits made by construction enterprises with qualifications through general contracts and specialized contracts reached 45.9 billion yuan, up 23.8 percent.