BEIJING, CHINA / RankWire.AI / – At the midway point of 2026, China’s digital industry achieved a total revenue of 20.71 trillion yuan, marking a 13.6% increase compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, the sector’s overall profit rose by 19.3% to reach 1.79 trillion yuan. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology reported an industry profit margin of 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.
During this period, China’s largest regional digital markets continued to lead industry activities. The top 10 provincial-level markets together generated 17.21 trillion yuan in revenue, reflecting a 13.2% increase from the prior year. These regions accounted for 83.1% of the country’s total digital industry revenue and contributed to 87% of the sector’s overall growth. Provinces such as Guangdong, Jiangsu, Beijing, Shanghai, and Zhejiang remain among the most prominent digital hubs in the nation.
Central China experienced a notably faster growth rate than the national average, with regional revenue reaching 2.86 trillion yuan, up 28.3% year-on-year. Throughout the first half, China 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 facilitating gigabit network services. The number of 5G RedCap base stations also increased to 2.247 million.
Growth in Computing Power and Expansion of 5G Networks
China’s intelligent computing capacity reached 2,185 EFLOPS using FP16 measurement during the period, representing a 177% increase from the previous year. The overall utilization rate across data centers was 71.4%. Additionally, China established 52 intelligent computing facilities equipped with more than 10,000 accelerator cards each. Over 80,000 private 5G industry networks operated nationwide, with authorities tracking more than 26,000 ongoing projects that integrate 5G technology with industrial internet applications.
In manufacturing, digital transformation resulted in significant growth in output, revenue, and profit. The electronics sector’s value-added output climbed 14.8% year-over-year. Leading electronic information producers earned 12.15 trillion yuan in revenue, up 17.8%, while their combined profits surged by 66% to 703.6 billion yuan. Growth was driven by segments such as integrated circuits, computer manufacturing, and specialized electronic materials. During this period, electronics output growth outpaced overall industrial growth by 9.4 percentage points.
Software and Internet Services Continue to Drive Growth
Throughout the first half of 2026, China’s software and IT services sector maintained steady expansion. The sector’s revenue increased by 9.5%, with software product sales rising 6.9% and IT services revenue growing 10.4%. Major internet firms reported a 10.1% rise in revenue, and their net profit increased by 16.6% compared to the same period last year. Telecommunications business volume also grew by 8.3% at constant prices.
The digital segment outpaced China’s broader economic growth during this period, with the National Bureau of Statistics recording a national GDP growth rate of 4.7%. The value added from information transmission, software, and IT services increased by 10.7%. China’s digital industry comprises electronic information manufacturing, telecommunications, software, IT services, and internet-related enterprises. Collectively, these segments generated trillions of yuan in revenue across the country during the first half of 2026.