BEIJING -- China's industrial production has been stabilizing as the government's pro-growth measures gained traction, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said on Thursday.

"Industrial production growth will likely accelerate in the fourth quarter, laying a solid foundation for the government to achieve this year's 7.5-percent economic growth target," Zhu Hongren, the ministry's chief engineer, told a news conference.

China's industrial value-added output increased 10 percent year on year in the first three quarters despite sluggish external demand and stiffening global headwinds.

However, Zhu warned that the world's second-largest economy still faces severe challenges as external demand remains weak, corporate earnings have continued to fall and some sectors are still beset by overcapacity.

China has cut interest rates twice since the start of June and tried to bolster its economic growth through higher spending on low-income housing and infrastructure projects.

The country's economy expanded at 7.4 percent year on year in the third quarter, slowing for the seventh straight three-month period to its worst performance since the first quarter of 2009.

But recent data shows that the country's economic activity is picking up. A preliminary version of HSBC's monthly purchasing managers' index rose to a three-month high of 49.1, the bank said on Wednesday. The index was below the 50-point level that indicates a contraction but was a strong improvement from 47.9 in September.