BEIJING, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- China's burgeoning new growth drivers are fueling a sustained surge in industrial profits, reflecting the country's accelerating shift toward innovation-driven development.
Profits of China's industrial firms above designated size increased 17.6 percent year on year during the first seven months of 2026, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Thursday.
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 January-July period, according to the data.
In the three major sectors, mining industry profits jumped 34.9 percent to 666.05 billion yuan, and manufacturing profits climbed 18.8 percent to nearly 3.44 trillion yuan. However, profits in the power, heat, gas and water production and supply sector fell 5.8 percent to 478.42 billion yuan.
Among major industries, the computer, communications and other electronic equipment manufacturing sector saw profits surge 110 percent. Non-ferrous metal smelting and rolling processing jumped 91.8 percent, chemical raw materials and products manufacturing rose 56.6 percent, and coal mining and washing increased 50.4 percent. The petroleum, coal and other fuel processing sector turned from losses to profits.
Yu Weining, an NBS statistician, attributed the robust gains to the rapid expansion of the "AI Plus" initiative and booming demand for computing power, which boosted product demand, pushed up prices and underpinned rapid profit growth in AI-related electronic industries.
Pang Ming, a researcher with the China Chief Economist Forum, said that the remarkable growth fundamentally reflects the accelerated development of new quality productive forces and the synchronized cyclical resonance of the global AI and consumer electronics industrial chains.
Notably, high-end segments represented by integrated circuits, such as memory chips, have seen dividend-driven explosive growth. With the accelerated application of AI, big data, and cloud computing, the market space for the electronic information industry has expanded significantly, driving concurrent growth in upstream components and related manufacturing sectors, Pang said.
Meanwhile, the recovery of export orders and the improved domestic industrial chain support have also provided solid backing for the profitability of industrial firms.
Pang also noted that some traditional industries remain under pressure, highlighting the mismatch between energy costs and demand structure.
The NBS data also showed that in the first seven months, the combined revenue of these industrial firms reached 80.92 trillion yuan, up 6.5 percent year on year, while operating costs increased 5.9 percent to 68.79 trillion yuan.
Yu attributed the relatively fast profit growth to steady industrial production and the rapid expansion of new growth drivers.
Yu highlighted the electronic sector as the main pillar, with profits surging 110 percent and contributing 9.3 percentage points to the overall industrial profit growth.
High-tech manufacturing also showed strong momentum, with profits up 50.1 percent, contributing 9.6 percentage points to overall industrial profit growth. Raw material manufacturing profits rose 55.2 percent, adding 7.1 percentage points.
Yu noted that the profit margin on revenue stood at 5.66 percent in the first seven months, reaching the highest level for the same period since 2023.
However, Yu cautioned that the international environment remains complex and challenging, while the domestic imbalance of strong supply and weak demand is still prominent. He called for further efforts to expand domestic demand, optimize supply, and advance the upgrading of traditional industries, the growth of emerging sectors and the cultivation of future industries to consolidate the foundation for high-quality industrial development.
Pang said that the industrial economy remains in a transition period characterized by the strengthening of new driving forces and the pressure on old ones. Maintaining profit momentum continues to rely on policy support and market demand recovery.
In July alone, profits of major industrial firms grew 11.2 percent year on year, according to the NBS.
Looking ahead, with the ongoing release of policy dividends and the deep stimulation of endogenous momentum, the performance of industrial enterprises is expected to make solid progress toward high-quality development, Pang added. ■
