China's industrial production advanced by 7.7% year-on-year in March, according to preliminary data from China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released on Wednesday.

The March figure was 1.8 percentage points higher than the first two months of the year. Private enterprises posted a 7.3% rise in value added, outperforming state-owned firms, which gained 4.2%. Foreign-funded companies, including those from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, saw a 4% increase. The Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' (PMI) Index for March stood at 50.5%, with production and operation expectations at 53.8%.

Furthermore, equipment manufacturing grew by 10.9% in the first quarter, while high-tech manufacturing increased 9.7%.