BEIJING, July 15 (Xinhua) -- China's value-added industrial output grew at a faster pace in June, up 6.8 percent year on year, as the world's second-largest economy stepped up efforts to support growth despite challenges both at home and abroad.

The growth accelerated from a 5.8 percent rise in May, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Tuesday.

In the first six months of this year, China's industrial output increased by 6.4 percent compared to the same period last year, according to NBS data.

The industrial output is used to measure the activity of large enterprises, each with an annual main business turnover of at least 20 million yuan (about 2.8 million U.S. dollars).

A breakdown of the data showed that the manufacturing sector's value-added output increased by 7 percent year on year during the January-June period, while that of equipment manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing expanded by 10.2 percent and 9.5 percent, respectively, according to the NBS.

The production of 3D printing equipment, new energy vehicles, and industrial robots surged 43.1 percent, 36.2 percent and 35.6 percent year on year during the period, respectively.

Tuesday's data also showed that the country's GDP grew by 5.3 percent year on year in the first half of 2025. Retail sales of consumer goods, a major indicator of the country's consumption strength, expanded 5 percent year on year during the period, while fixed-asset investment rose 2.8 percent. Enditem