China's industrial production grew 17.9 percent in October, underscoring government concern that the world's fastest-growing major economy risks overheating.

The figure released by the statistics bureau today compares with September's 18.9 percent gain from a year earlier. The median estimate of 22 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was 18.5 percent.

Premier Wen Jiabao yesterday pledged to tighten economic controls after inflation matched a decade high and the trade surplus widened to a record. Industrial production is rising at almost triple the pace in India even after China's central bank raised interest rates five times this year.

``Beijing knows that we are on the verge of overheating and interest rates need to rise very soon,'' said Stephen Green, senior economist at Standard Chartered Bank Plc in Shanghai.

The key one-year lending rate is 7.29 percent, the highest since 1998.

Automobile output rose 24.3 percent in October from a year earlier while cement production climbed 9.8 percent, the statistics bureau said. Production of electrical machinery and equipment increased 23.7 percent.

Faster Than Last Year

October's growth in industrial production was higher than the 14.7 percent gain a year earlier and the 16.6 percent expansion for all of 2006. For the year through October, output rose 18.5 percent. In India, industrial production grew 6.4 percent in September.

China's economy, the world's fourth largest, expanded 11.5 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier. Inflation accelerated to 6.5 percent in October, matching August's rate. The monthly trade surplus was $27 billion.

Spending on factories and property probably climbed 26.2 percent in the first 10 months, according to a Bloomberg News survey of economists. That figure, the last in this round of data, is due tomorrow at 10 a.m.

``Data released this week has shown increased risks of overheating and the central bank has little excuse not to raise interest rates,'' said Wang Tao, head of economics and strategy for Greater China at Bank of America Corp. in Beijing.

Pollution, Energy

China is trying to curb investment in industries that have overcapacity, consume too much energy and produce excessive pollution. The premier said last month that the government will limit land use, tighten investment-project approvals and guide bank lending.

``Policy tightening'' has cooled factory output, said Ben Simpfendorfer, a strategist at Royal Bank of Scotland Plc in Hong Kong. ``It will moderate further in the early part of next year as exports slow on weaker global demand.''

While the trade surplus reached a record on Christmas shipments, the 22.3 percent gain in exports from a year earlier was the smallest increase in seven months. Retail sales in the U.S. rose 0.2 percent in October from the previous month after gaining 0.7 percent in September, the Commerce Department said yesterday.