BEIJING, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- China's industrial profits maintained double-digit growth in the first eight months of 2026, driven by rapid expansion of high-tech manufacturing and new growth drivers, official figures showed on Monday.
Profits of industrial firms above designated size increased 15.7 percent year on year during the first eight months of 2026, according to National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data.
These industrial firms with an annual main business revenue of at least 20 million yuan (about 2.97 million U.S. dollars) saw their combined profits reach 5.27 trillion yuan in the January-August period.
In August alone, profits of major industrial firms grew 4.2 percent year on year, the NBS noted.
Yu Weining, an NBS statistician, attributed this relatively fast profit growth to the steady advance of industrial production and a widened increase in industrial product prices.
Earlier data revealed that the country's industrial output rose 5.3 percent in the first eight months of the year, while the producer price index, which measures costs of goods at the factory gate, climbed 3.8 percent year on year in August.
Yu highlighted the electronic sector as the main pillar supporting industrial growth, with profits surging 110 percent year on year, contributing 62 percent to the overall profit growth of industrial firms.
"The accelerated expansion of new technology applications, represented by artificial intelligence, has driven the expansion of demand in related fields, propelling swift profit growth in the electronics industry," Yu said.
Yu noted that rising chip demand driven by emerging scenarios such as new energy vehicles, the Internet of Things and computing power centers had boosted profits in the optoelectronic device manufacturing and semiconductor discrete device manufacturing industries by 72 percent and 51.8 percent, respectively.
High-tech manufacturing played a prominent role in driving growth. During the January-August period, profits of high-tech manufacturing firms above designated size soared 54.7 percent year on year, 39 percentage points higher than the overall growth rate.
Profits of raw material manufacturing jumped 47.3 percent year on year in the January-August period, contributing 6.2 percentage points to the overall profit growth. Higher international crude oil and non-ferrous metals prices, meanwhile, helped lift chemical and non-ferrous metals profits in this period, while petroleum processing recovered from making losses to generating profits.
Industrial firms' unit costs continued to decline in the January-August period, with cost per 100 yuan of operating revenue down 0.41 yuan year on year, while the profit margin on operating revenue rose 0.44 percentage points to 5.66 percent, reflecting improved cost control and profitability.
China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) highlights the development of a modern industrial system anchored by advanced manufacturing. The country will move to upgrade traditional sectors to the mid-to-high end of the value chain, nurture emerging industries, and make forward-looking plans for industries of the future, according to this development blueprint.
Looking ahead, Yu said efforts should be made to expand domestic demand, optimize supply, accelerate the shift from old growth drivers to new ones, and promote the sustained development of the industrial economy with new and improved quality. ■
