China’s Digital Industry Posts Robust First‑Half Growth Amid Infrastructure Upgrades

According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China’s digital industry has maintained solid upward momentum through the first half of the year, with brisk business‑income expansion driven by domestic artificial‑intelligence uptake and buoyant overseas demand.

Total revenue across the digital sector reached RMB 20.71 trillion in the first six months, marking a 13.6 per cent year‑on‑year rise. This growth rate is 4.1 percentage points higher than the corresponding period a year earlier and 0.7 percentage points above the figure for the first quarter. Profitability has also improved substantially; combined industrial profits hit RMB 1.79 trillion, up 19.3 per cent year‑on‑year, with the growth pace accelerating by 10.3 percentage points against the prior‑year half‑year reading. Faster breakthroughs in core technologies are injecting momentum into emerging market segments, bolstering economic stability, fostering new‑quality productive forces and supporting digital‑intelligent transformation across broad swathes of the real‑economy landscape.

The digital‑industry grouping covers electronic‑information manufacturing, telecommunications, software and information‑technology services, alongside internet‑related services. It forms a core component of the digital economy and underpins deeper integration between digital advances and real‑world economic activity.

Digital‑infrastructure roll‑out continues to gather pace. The dual‑gigabit network initiative sees steady quality improvements. By the end of June 2026, the country operated 5.102 million 5G base stations, while 32.86 million 10G PON ports supported gigabit‑capable connectivity. Commercial deployment of 5G‑A networks presses ahead, with 2.247 million 5G RedCap base stations now in service, and 10‑gigabit‑optical‑network trials underway across residential compounds, manufacturing plants and industrial parks.

Computing‑infrastructure capacity is expanding rapidly. National intelligent‑computing power has climbed to 2 185 EFLOPS (FP16), representing a 177 per cent year‑on‑year increase. The overall utilisation rate of national computing facilities stands at 71.4 per cent, and 52 super‑scale intelligent‑computing sites with over 10 000 chips each have been completed.

Integrated‑application value keeps unfolding. More than 80 000 private 5G industry‑specific virtual networks have been built nationwide. 5G and gigabit‑optical‑network solutions are now deployed within 94 major national‑economic categories. Over 26 000 “5G plus industrial internet” projects are under construction, and 1 260 well‑differentiated 5G factories have been put in place across the country.

The information‑communications sector runs at a stable clip. Output within digital manufacturing keeps expanding quickly. Value‑added output of the electronics industry rose by 14.8 per cent year‑on‑year in the first half, 1.2 percentage points higher than the first‑quarter rate and 9.4 percentage points above overall industrial‑sector growth. Electronic‑device production, electronic‑component and special‑material manufacturing, and smart‑consumer‑equipment manufacturing record particularly strong expansion.

Above‑designated‑size electronic‑information‑manufacturing enterprises generated operating revenue of RMB 12.15 trillion, an increase of 17.8 per cent year‑on‑year, and posted total profits of RMB 703.6 billion, surging 66 per cent year‑on‑year. Integrated‑circuit manufacturing, whole‑computer‑set production and electronic‑special‑material manufacturing deliver the largest profit‑pulling effects.

On digital‑services fronts, the information‑communications industry maintains steady operation. Calculated at constant‑prior‑year prices, total telecom‑business volume grew by 8.3 per cent year‑on‑year in the first half, lifting 0.6 percentage points from the prior‑year‑period level. Business revenue for the software and information‑technology‑services sector rose 9.5 per cent year‑on‑year; software‑product revenue expanded by 6.9 per cent, and information‑technology‑service revenue went up by 10.4 per cent.

Above‑designated‑size internet‑sector enterprises recorded a 10.1 per cent year‑on‑year rise in business revenue, 7 percentage points faster than the equivalent prior‑year‑half‑year figure, alongside a 16.6 per cent year‑on‑year increase in total profits.