Profits of China's industrial firms above designated size increased 18.7 percent year-on-year in the first half, with the growth rate accelerating by 3.2 percentage points from the first quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced on Monday. Experts noted that China's industrial production maintained steady progress, with rapidly expanding new growth drivers providing crucial support for the strong performance.

In particular, profits in the electronics industry surged 96.9 percent year-on-year, driven by a sharp increase in computing power demand as the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into various sectors gained momentum.

The substantial growth in electronics industry profits contributed 8.5 percentage points to the overall profit growth of enterprises above designated size, thus serving as an important contributor to the expansion in industrial profits, Yu Weining, chief statistician in the NBS Department of Industrial Statistics, said in a statement posted on the NBS website on Monday. In June alone, profits of industrial enterprises above designated size rose 15.1 percent year-on-year.

Profits in the computer manufacturing and computer peripheral equipment manufacturing sectors rose 689.3 percent and 305.8 percent, respectively, in the first half, while profits in integrated circuit manufacturing and semiconductor discrete device manufacturing increased 2,579.5 percent and 31.2 percent, NBS data showed.

The operating revenue of industrial enterprises above designated size increased 6.5 percent year-on-year, amid steady growth in industrial production and the continued recovery of industrial product prices. The growth rate was 1.5 percentage points higher than in the first quarter, according to the NBS.

Yu stated that Chinese authorities will continue making sustained efforts in "cultivating emerging and future industries, as well as transforming and upgrading traditional industries, so as to ensure a smooth transition and succession between old and new growth drivers and advance the high-quality development of the industrial economy."

Emerging industries such as AI and integrated circuits are reshaping China's industrial value chains, moving the economy beyond traditional growth models reliant on scale expansion and resource inputs while unlocking vast new growth potential, Wang Peng, an associate researcher at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Monday.

Their technological spillover effects extend across upstream and downstream sectors, improving production efficiency, driving industries toward higher-value segments and becoming a key force behind industrial upgrading, Wang noted.

"Meanwhile, the rapid development of emerging industries is also encouraging the industrial system to address weak links, channel more innovation resources into the real economy and inject greater vitality into the broader industrial ecosystem," he added.

Experts also noted that the strong growth of new drivers was underpinned by China's continued push to develop new quality productive forces and accelerate the intelligent and digital transformation of manufacturing, both key priorities under the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), while stronger industrial upgrading is also expected to generate new investment and consumption demand.

In addition, benign interaction between demand and supply is a key driver of economic development.

The country's efforts to expand domestic demand have helped create stronger market support, enabling emerging industries and new products to better connect with consumer needs and accelerate commercialization, experts noted.

Industry observers also noted that the industrial economy is at a critical stage of shifting from old growth drivers to new ones, with further efforts needed to unlock growth potential.

Further efforts are needed to strengthen coordination between supply and demand, ensuring that new industrial drivers better match market needs, Wang said. He stressed that technological upgrading of traditional industries should advance alongside the growth of emerging sectors, enabling coordinated development between new and traditional industries. Meanwhile, improving financing channels for the real economy will help ease business pressures and support sustainable industrial growth.