New growth drivers made a significant contribution to the rise of China's major industrial firms' profits in the first seven months of 2026, according to data released Thursday by the National Bureau of Statistics.
Profits of China's industrial firms above designated size increased 17.6 percent year on year during the first seven months of 2026, the data showed.
These industrial firms with an annual main business revenue of at least 20 million yuan (about 2.95 million U.S. dollars) saw their combined profits reach 4.58 trillion yuan in the period, according to the data.
"The overall performance of industrial firms has continued to improve, with profit margins increasing month by month and showing a positive trend. It indicates that the efforts to reduce costs, optimize structures and expand markets are achieving tangible results. For example, the application of new technologies has optimized the production process, thus tapping into the potential for cost reduction and efficiency improvement. The development of high value-added products has enhanced the competitive level of industries and expanded the space for transformation and development. The release of demand has optimized the balance between supply and demand and opened up new space for adapting to growth demands," said Xu Jianwei, director of the industrial office at the Institute of Industrial and Technological Economics under the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
High-tech manufacturing played a notable leading role. In the same period, the transformation of the manufacturing towards the medium and high ends of the industrial chain and value chain continued to advance.
The profits of high-tech manufacturing enterprises above designated size increased by 50.1 percent year on year. In particular, the profits of industries such as optical fiber manufacturing and communication system equipment manufacturing rose by 468.4 percent and 55 percent, respectively.
With the accelerated expansion of "Artificial Intelligence (AI) plus" and the continuous growth of computing power demand, the demand for related products has increased, driving the profits of the electronics industry related to the production and application of AI to achieve rapid growth.
From January to July, the profits of the electronics industry increased by 1.1 times year on year, driving the profits of all enterprises above designated size to grow by 9.3 percentage points. It was the main support for the rapid growth of profits of these enterprises.
The unit cost of industrial firms continued to decline, while the revenue profit margin continued to increase.
In the first seven months this year, the operating income profit rate of industrial enterprises above designated size stood at 5.66 percent, up by 0.54 percentage points year on year, reaching the highest level for the same period since 2023.
New growth drivers contribute to profit rise of China's major industrial firms
