Economic Watch: AI, new-energy demand drive China’s industrial profit growth

BEIJING, June 27 — China’s major industrial firms posted accelerated profit growth in the first five months of 2026, driven by surging demand for AI-related electronics and new-energy materials, official data showed Saturday.

Industrial firms with an annual main business revenue of at least 20 million yuan (about 2.93 million U.S. dollars) saw their combined profits reach 3.14 trillion yuan in the January-May period, up 18.8 percent year on year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The growth surpassed the 18.2 percent rise in the first four months. In May alone, industrial profits rose 21.1 percent, the NBS data showed.