Profits of China's major industrial firms up 0.9% in first 8 months: NBS

Profits of China's major industrial firms increased 0.9 percent year on year in the first eight months of 2025, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Saturday. This marks a significant turnaround from the 1.7 percent decline recorded in the first seven months of the year, reversing a trend of consecutive declines since May. On a monthly basis, industrial profits surged by 20.4 percent in August, a strong rebound from the 1.5 percent drop in July.

NBS statistician Yu Weining attributed this improvement to the effective implementation of macro policies, the deepening development of a national unified market, and a lower comparative base from the previous year.

Yu highlighted that a stable increase in revenue provided a foundation for the profit recovery. The operating income of major industrial firms grew by 2.3 percent year on year in the first eight months, matching the growth rate from January to July. Notably, the revenue growth rate accelerated to 1.9 percent in August alone, up by 1 percentage point from July, creating favorable conditions for profit improvement.

The equipment manufacturing sector played a pivotal "ballast" role, with its profits increasing by 7.2 percent in the first eight months. This robust uplift pulled up the overall industrial profit growth rate by 2.5 percentage points, according to the NBS.

Despite the positive signs, Chinese authorities have acknowledged challenges ahead, including a complex external environment and insufficient domestic demand, emphasizing the need to further expand demand and regulate competition to achieve sustainable development.