China's industrial output expands 6.8 pct in Q1

BEIJING, April 17 (Xinhua) -- China's industrial output expanded 6.8 percent in the first quarter, slightly easing from the 7.2-percent growth in the January-February period, official data showed Tuesday.

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 (about 3 million U.S. dollars).