BEIJING - Data released by the State Taxation Administration on Friday showed that Chinese enterprises have steadily increased their investment in innovation, while the development of new quality productive forces accelerated in the first three quarters of 2025.

The latest value-added tax (VAT) invoice data showed that sales revenue for intellectual property-intensive industries grew by 11.5 percent year on year in the first three quarters.

During the period, sales revenue for the high-tech industry and equipment manufacturing industry rose by 15.2 percent and 9 percent year on year, respectively, according to the data.

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Notably, with China accelerating its "AI Plus" initiative, sales revenue for integrated circuit manufacturing, robot manufacturing, and drone manufacturing increased by 17 percent, 21.7 percent, and 69.8 percent year on year, respectively.

As a key force in fostering new quality productive forces, the "little giant" enterprises -- a title for outstanding specialized, high-tech small and medium-sized firms -- have demonstrated robust growth during the period.

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In the first three quarters, VAT invoice data showed that sales revenue of "little giant" enterprises rose 8.2 percent year on year, up 4.1 percentage points from the same period in 2024.