China’s industrial profits rise 18.7% in H1

Profits at China's major industrial firms posted solid growth in the first half of 2026, buoyed by surging earnings in electronics-related industries and the rapid expansion of new growth drivers, official data showed on Monday.

Industrial enterprises with an annual main business revenue of at least 20 million yuan ($2.95 million) reported combined profits of 3.95 trillion yuan in the January-June period, up 18.7 percent year-on-year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The growth rate was 3.2 percentage points higher than in the first quarter. In June alone, industrial profits rose 15.1 percent from a year earlier, the bureau said.

The robust performance, according to Yu Weining, a statistician with the bureau, was largely driven by strong gains in electronics-related industries and sectors linked to new growth drivers.

In the first half, profits in the electronics sector surged 96.9 percent year-on-year, contributing 8.5 percentage points to overall profit growth among major industrial firms, NBS data showed.

"Artificial intelligence became more deeply integrated across sectors, sharply boosting demand for computing power," Yu said, adding that profits in integrated circuit manufacturing soared 2,579.5 percent.

New growth drivers provided further support. Among industries supporting connectivity within data centers, profits at optical fiber and optical cable manufacturers jumped 410.4 percent and 39.8 percent, respectively, the NBS said.

The raw materials manufacturing sector also reported rapid growth, with profits rising 71.7 percent year-on-year and contributing 8.8 percentage points to overall industrial profit growth, NBS data showed.

"Profits at major industrial firms posted strong growth in the first half," Yu said, while cautioning that industrial firms continued to face insufficient market demand and cash-flow pressures amid a complex external environment and uncertainty over global commodity prices.

Looking ahead, Yu called for continued efforts to foster emerging and future industries while upgrading traditional sectors in the next phase, so as to ensure a smooth transition between old and new growth drivers.