CHINA'S industrial output and infrastructure spending rose at a slightly slower-than-expected pace in September.

Analysts said the slowdown in factory production probably reflected government efforts to curtail the activities of big industrial polluters and shift manufacturing emphasis to cleaner, more energy-efficient light industries.

"These are not alarming declines, just more signs of moderation under tightening policies," Citigroup economists wrote in a report.

Industrial production rose 13.3 percent in September from a year earlier, compared with a 13.9 percent growth in August, the National Bureau of Statistics reported yesterday. Urban investment in public works, or fixed assets, grew 23.2 percent, easing from 23.9 percent in August.

Ben Simpfendorfer, a China economist with Royal Bank of Scotland, said September industrial production, if viewed on a month-to-month instead of a year-on-year basis, was up 1.2 percent. That comparison would not reflect adjustment for seasonal variations.

Simpfendorfer said the slowdown in fixed-asset investment was only marginal. He pointed to a central government crackdown on wasteful spending by local governments. Local authorities are largely responsible for spending on bridges, roads, rail and other infrastructure.

Sheng Laiyun, a spokesman for the statistics bureau, attributed the slowdown in industrial output to new energy conservation policies being adopted by local governments.

Indeed, growth in factory output in six major energy-intensive industries eased to 10.5 percent in the third quarter from 15.1 percent in the second quarter, he said in Beijing.

In September, power production climbed just 8.1 percent from a year earlier as growth in heavy industry output slowed more than that of light industries. That reflects intense government efforts to close inefficient, high energy use factories.