BEIJING, CHINA / RankWire.AI / – During the initial six months of 2026, China’s digital industry generated a total revenue of 20.71 trillion yuan, reflecting a 13.6% increase compared to the same period last year. Profits rose significantly by 19.3%, reaching 1.79 trillion yuan. According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the industry’s profit margin stood at 8.6%, which is 0.7 percentage points higher than the previous year. These figures encompass key segments of China’s rapidly expanding digital economy.
Leading regional digital markets in China continued to dominate industry activity over the first half of the year. The top 10 provincial-level markets collectively generated 17.21 trillion yuan in revenue, marking a 13.2% increase from the prior year. These markets accounted for 83.1% of the country’s total digital industry revenue and contributed 87% to the sector’s overall growth. Guangdong, Jiangsu, Beijing, Shanghai, and Zhejiang maintained their positions as some of the country’s primary digital industry hubs.
Growth in Central China surpassed the national average for the digital sector. The region’s revenue reached 2.86 trillion yuan, a 28.3% rise compared to the same period last year. Throughout the first half, China also continued to expand its communications and computing infrastructure. By the end of June, the country had installed 5.102 million 5G base stations and supported 32.86 million 10G PON ports for gigabit network services. Additionally, the number of 5G RedCap base stations reached 2.247 million.
Expansion of Computing Power and 5G Infrastructure
China’s intelligent computing capacity hit 2,185 EFLOPS measured in FP16 during this period, representing a 177% increase from the previous year. Utilization rates across data centers stood at 71.4%. The nation also built 52 intelligent computing facilities with more than 10,000 accelerator cards deployed. Nationwide, over 80,000 private 5G industry networks were operational, with authorities reporting more than 26,000 active projects integrating 5G with industrial internet technologies.
The digital manufacturing sector experienced robust growth in output, revenue, and profits. The value-added output of electronics manufacturing increased by 14.8% compared to last year. Major electronic information manufacturers generated 12.15 trillion yuan in revenue, a 17.8% rise, with their combined profit surging 66% to 703.6 billion yuan. Key contributors to this earnings growth included integrated circuits, computer manufacturing, and specialized electronic materials. During the same period, electronics output growth exceeded the overall industrial growth by 9.4 percentage points.
Software and Internet Service Sectors Continue to Grow
China’s software and IT service industries kept expanding in tandem with digital manufacturing. Revenue from these sectors increased by 9.5% during the first half of 2026. Software product sales grew by 6.9%, while revenue from IT services rose by 10.4%. Major internet companies reported a 10.1% increase in revenue and a 16.6% rise in total profit compared to the same period last year. Telecommunications activity also saw an 8.3% growth when measured at constant prices.
During the first six months of 2026, China’s digital industry outpaced the country’s overall economy, which grew by 4.7% as per the National Bureau of Statistics. The value added from sectors such as information transmission, software, and IT services grew by 10.7%. The digital industry encompasses electronic information manufacturing, telecommunications, software, IT services, and internet-related enterprises. These segments collectively contributed trillions of yuan in revenue across China during this period.