A worker conducts production and testing of lithium battery products at a lithium company in Ji'an, East China's Jiangxi Province, on March 1, 2026. The production lines are operating at full capacity to ensure supply, exemplifying the bustling manufacturing activity across the region. Photo: VCG

In the first quarter of 2026, the profits of China’s major industrial enterprises grew at a faster pace, recording a year-on-year rise of 15.5 percent, accelerating by 0.3 percentage points compared with the January-February period, latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Monday.

NBS statistician Yu Weining said that, in the first three months, facing a complex economic environment in the world, the Chinese government front-loaded the implementation of more proactive and effective macro policies. As a result, overall industrial activity steadily rebounded, and profits in the equipment manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing sectors grew rapidly.

In March, the profits of the country’s major industrial enterprises expanded by 15.8 percent, accelerating by 0.6 percentage points compared with the January-February period, according to the NBS.

In the first quarter, the state-controlled enterprises realized total profits of 619.61 billion yuan (90.64 billion), up 10.1 percent year-on-year. Share-holding enterprises recorded total profits of 1.30 trillion yuan, up 20.9 percent. Foreign-invested enterprises and those funded by investors from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan region achieved total profits of 383.73 billion yuan, up 1.2 percent. Private enterprises posted total profits of 430.53 billion yuan, increasing 25.4 percent, the official data showed.

Yu noted that the equipment manufacturing sector played a prominent role. In the first quarter, profits of equipment manufacturing enterprises grew by 21.0 percent. And, driven by factors such as improved production and rising selling prices, the electronics industry saw its profits surge by 124.5 percent, becoming the main driver behind the rapid profit growth in the equipment manufacturing sector, said Yu.

High-tech manufacturing registered rapid profit growth. In the first quarter, profits of high-tech manufacturing enterprises rose 47.4 percent year on year, contributing 7.9 percentage points to the overall profit growth of all industrial enterprises. 

Rapid development in artificial intelligence and semiconductor-related sectors drove strong profit growth in related fields, with fiber optic manufacturing surging 336.8 percent, and optoelectronic device manufacturing up 43.0 percent. Rising demand for intelligent products boosted profits in smart unmanned aerial vehicle manufacturing and other intelligent consumer equipment manufacturing by 53.8 percent and 67.3 percent, respectively, according to Yu. 

During the period, profits of raw materials manufacturing enterprises increased by 77.9 percent year-on-year, maintaining strong momentum with high-speed growth. Driven by the rapid development of strategic emerging industries such as aerospace, new energy, and next-generation information technology, profits in the non-ferrous metals sector surged 116.7 percent. The petroleum processing industry swung from losses to profits, recording total profits of 22.94 billion yuan, Yu said.

Overall, industrial enterprises recorded relatively rapid profit growth in the first quarter. However, it should also be noted that external uncertainties have increased, and the domestic imbalance between strong supply and weak demand needs to be resolved, the NBS statistician said. 

In the coming months, the country should continue to focus on improving quality and efficiency, in a bid to promote effective qualitative improvement and reasonable quantitative growth, Yu said.


Global Times