(ECNS) -- China's value-added industrial output expanded by 4.1% year-on-year in April, maintaining a stable growth despite the geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and demonstrating strong resilience, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Monday.

In the first four months of 2026, industrial output grew 5.6% compared with the same period last year, said Fu Linghui, spokesman for the NBS, at a press conference of the State Council Information Office.

Fu identified three drivers of steady industrial performance: ongoing industrial upgrading and optimization, rapid growth of new growth drivers, and improving business expectations.

With China's rising technological capabilities, the equipment manufacturing sector has significantly enhanced its development capacity. In April, value-added output of equipment manufacturers above a designated size grew by 8.3 % year-on-year, up 0.1 percentage point from March, and contributed 74.5% to overall industrial growth.

In tandem with the accelerated deployment of emerging industries, production of robot speed reducers and industrial robots rose 38.3% and 15.1%, respectively, from a year earlier.

People visit an industrial robot display at the Beijing Robot World. (File photo: China News Service / Zhang Xiangyi)

Business expectations have also improved, thanks to a healthier market environment resulting from a crackdown on cutthroat competition and increased corporate profits.

The manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) stood at 50.3% in April, remaining in expansionary territory for the second straight month. The sub-index for production and business expectations climbed to 54.5%, marking a steady rise since the start of the year.

While prolonged Middle East tensions have widened fluctuations in the global energy market and threatened the stability of global industrial and supply chains, China's industrial production has maintained its overall stability thanks to its full-fledged industrial system, strong auxiliary capacity and domestic energy transition, Fu said.

The country has also expanded exports of green and digital products, providing strong support for the global economy. In the January-April period, China's integrated circuit exports surged 78.3% year-on-year, while exports of electric vehicles increased by more than 60%.

(By Tang Yuxian)