Chinese industry to grow by 11% in 2012

China’s industrial output growth is expected to slow to 11% in 2012, down from 13.9% in 2011, Reuters reported. Miao Wei, minister of Industry and Information Technology, said development in 2012 “would not be optimistic” due to the uncertain global economy. Monthly output growth has fallen in the past six months from a high of 15.1% in June. Miao said China would reduce industrial energy consumption by 5% in 2012, and reduce water consumption by 7%. The country will also focus on consolidating key industries: “We will launch implementation plans for mergers and acquisitions in sectors like steel, automobiles and cement.” The measure of China’s industrial output includes enterprises with an annual revenue of US$3.16 million. The latest five-year plan targets annual GDP growth of 7% over five years, with industrial output growth of 10%.