China's industrial profits rise in the first quarter of 2026

Beijing (ANTARA) - China’s industrial sector posted strong profit growth in the first quarter (Q1) of 2026, as the government’s proactive macroeconomic policies helped mitigate the impact of a complex economic environment and boosted momentum in high-end manufacturing, official data showed on Monday.

According to data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), profits of large Chinese industrial firms rose 15.5% year on year to 1.696 trillion yuan (1 yuan = Rp2,528) for the January-March period, up 0.3 percentage points from the growth recorded in the first two months of the year.

In March, profits of large industrial firms increased 15.8% from a year earlier, with the growth rate rising 0.6 percentage points compared to the January-February period.

NBS statistician Yu Weining said Chinese authorities have stepped up macroeconomic support by rolling out more proactive policies to stabilise growth, helping the industrial sector achieve stable recovery and enhance corporate profitability.

Equipment manufacturing remained the main driver of profit growth. Profits in this sector rose 21% in the first quarter, contributing 6.8 percentage points to the overall industrial profit growth.

The sector accounted for 33.7% of the total profits of large industrial firms, up 1.7 percentage points from a year earlier.

Within the sector, electronics industry profits surged 124.5%, supported by strong production and price recovery. Profits in aerospace manufacturing, shipbuilding, and railway manufacturing rose 16.7%, up 5.3 percentage points from the January-February period.

High-tech manufacturing also recorded strong growth, with profits jumping 47.4% in the first quarter and contributing 7.9 percentage points to overall industrial profit growth.

Rapid developments in the artificial intelligence (AI) industry and related semiconductor industries helped drive profits in optical fibre manufacturing, optoelectronic devices, and display devices up by 336.8%, 43%, and 36.3%, respectively.

The data also showed that rising demand for various smart products boosted profits in smart drone manufacturing and other smart consumer equipment manufacturing by 53.8% and 67.3%, respectively.

Despite the recorded increases, China’s NBS warned that uncertainty in the external environment remains high and domestic supply-demand imbalances still need to be addressed.