The figure represents a 3.9 percentage points decline from the growth rate of 2011, said the NBS at a press conference in Beijing.

In December last year, the value-added industrial output increased 10.3 percent from a year earlier, picking up from 10.1 percent in November, the data showed.

Value-added industrial output measures the final output value of industrial production, or the value of gross industrial output minus intermediate input, such as raw materials and labor costs.