A technician works on the production line of a machinery company in Luannan county, Hebei province. [Photo/Xinhua]

China's non-ferrous metal sector logged rapid expansion in production in the first quarter of 2023, industrial data showed on Thursday.

The industrial added value of major enterprises in the sector expanded 5.8 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, Chen Xuesen, vice-chairman of the China Non-ferrous Metals Industry Association, told a press conference.

The output of 10 types of non-ferrous metals reached 18.26 million tons, up 9 percent year-on-year, according to Chen.

The figure was calculated on the output of the new list of 10 leading non-ferrous metals, including copper, aluminum, lead, zinc, nickel, tin, antimony, silicon, magnesium, and titanium, Chen added.

Compared with the old version, silicon is included in the new list, while mercury is subtracted from it.

The fixed-asset investment in the industry rose 11.9 percent year-on-year, 1.2 percentage points higher than that for the same period last year, the data showed

Editor: Li Shi