BEIJING, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- China's industrial sector logged stable growth in the first three quarters of 2024, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said on Wednesday.

The country's equipment manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing industries are growing rapidly. Industries such as electronics, nonferrous metals, chemicals and automobiles accounted for nearly half of the industrial production growth seen in the first three quarters, the ministry said.

During the period, the value-added output of the automobile industry increased 7.9 percent year on year, ministry data shows.

Following a boost to the country's consumer goods trade-in program, the consumption of electronic and digital products registered a significant increase. From January to September, the value-added output of companies in China's electronic information manufacturing sector with a main annual business revenue of at least 20 million yuan (about 2.81 million U.S. dollars) grew 12.8 percent year on year.

Mobile phone shipments in the domestic market reached 220 million units, up 9.9 percent from the same period last year, the data shows.

The country also continued to optimize its industrial structure. Production and sales of new energy vehicles increased 31.7 percent and 32.5 percent respectively, and China took on more than 70 percent of the world's green shipbuilding orders.

In the first eight months, the operating income margin of China's "little giant" firms with a main annual business revenue of at least 20 million yuan was 7.5 percent -- higher than the average level of industrial firms, the ministry said.

"Little giant" firms are the novel elites of small and medium-sized enterprises that are engaged in manufacturing, specialize in a niche market and hold cutting-edge technologies.

The data also shows that there were more than 4.09 million 5G base stations in China at the end of September.