BEIJING, June 14 (Xinhua) -- China's industrial output expanded 6.8 percent in May, slightly lower than the 7-percent rise in the previous month, official data showed Thursday.

In the first five months, industrial output rose 6.9 percent, flat with that of the first four months, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement.

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).