Profits in 21 of the 41 industrial sectors surveyed by the statistics bureau surged in September. Other sectors such as car manufacturing also saw a more modest recovery. At the same time, reductions in company expenditures improved the profit margin. Automation firm Sensepoch said China's economic normalization in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as improved demand in the market helped manufacturers like them recover.

"We were impacted heavily at the beginning. But later we saw the outbreak gradually coming under control, and the demand for automation products was still there. Domestic automation companies are now sending orders, while foreign companies are still impacted by COVID-19. We have seen a growth in orders since July, and the performance of our company this year will be at least at the same level as last year," said Li Huasheng, general manager at Sensepoch Automation Technology.

Li said that supportive policies including tax cuts and lower loan rates gave manufacturers like them a better chance to get through a difficult time.

"Companies like us, we focus more on R&D, which means a lot of expenses and labor costs in the early stages. So support from the government is quite important for us," said Li.

Some software makers have seen the chance to expand their business as COVID-19 boosted the need for contactless technology. Software maker Linkage expects a 20-percent surge in its income this year.

"We found the demand for our products is actually growing. More companies now require a contactless workspace which means an increase in demand for software. To us, it's an opportunity," said Rao Gang, board secretary at Linkage Software.

Though industrial profits have been rebounding since May, the overall performance of the country's industrial sector still remains sluggish. While September industrial profits rose nicely, the profits at China's major industrial firms still fell 2.4 percent year-on-year in the first three quarters. Experts say the performance of China's industrial sector still faces pressure, and that producer prices are not expected to rise for at least the next few months.

"So there is one very crucial sector to affect the PPI or industrial profits is the global commodity prices. And we are still in the early stage of the recovery and the global central banks are still running out of the tools to boost the economy if there is any need. So in the next few quarters or in the entire 2021, I expect the global economy, the recovery probably will still be very moderate, and that probably will weigh on the Chinese industrial sector," said Jimmy Zhu, chief strategist, Fullerton Research.

The country's annual factory gate prices have been in negative territory since February and saw a 2.1 percent year-on-year decline in September.