BEIJING - China's industrial output expanded 6 percent in the first ten months of 2016, thanks largely to strong performance in the high-tech and equipment manufacturing sectors, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data showed Monday.

The growth rate was unchanged from that posted for the first half of the year, the NBS announced.

Industrial output, officially called industrial value added, is used to measure the activity of designated large enterprises with annual turnover of at least 20 million yuan ($2.93 million).

In October, industrial output rose 6.1 percent year on year, unchanged from September, and up from 5.6 percent in October last year.

The increase in industrial output was largely buoyed by the fast-developing high-tech and equipment manufacturing sectors.

Industrial output for the two sectors jumped 10.5 percent and 10.1 percent in October, respectively, much faster than overall growth.

Profits of large enterprises rose 8.4 percent year on year to 4.64 trillion yuan during the first three quarters, unchanged from the growth rate posted for the first eight months, the data also showed.

After more than a decade of double-digit growth, the country's annual industrial growth slowed to 8.3 percent in 2014, and 6.1 percent in 2015, due to mounting downward economic pressure.

China's gross domestic product grew by 6.7 percent in the third quarter, the same as the second quarter.