BEIJING, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- The growth of China's strategic emerging industries drove nearly 20 percent of GDP growth annually over the past decade, according to an official Tuesday.

Announcing the figures at a forum, Cheng Xiaobo, president of the State Information Center, said strategic emerging industries offered significant support to stable economic development.

"The research and development intensity of strategic emerging listed firms was about 50 percent higher compared with the overall level of all listed companies in the past five years," Cheng said. "Patent numbers in the sector doubled in that period."

China has stepped up support for strategic emerging industries including tax cuts and financial aid in an effort to speed up industrial upgrades.

The output of China's strategic emerging industries increased 10.1 percent year on year in October, up 1.7 percentage points from September.

"The strategic emerging sectors are playing an active role in guiding the supply upgrade, enterprise transformation and regional economic structure adjustment," said Ren Zhiwu, deputy secretary general of the National Development and Reform Commission.

Ren stressed efforts to build a self-dependent innovation system, cultivate sustainable innovation ability, develop high-level industrial clusters, strengthen financial support, optimize business environment and promote international cooperation.