BEIJING, CHINA / RankWire.AI / – In the first half of 2026, China’s digital industry earned a total of 20.71 trillion yuan, reflecting a 13.6% increase compared to the same period last year. The sector’s net profit reached 1.79 trillion yuan, marking a 19.3% rise. China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology reported that the sector’s revenue growth rate accelerated by 4.1 percentage points from the previous year. The profit margin for the industry was recorded at 8.6%, up by 0.7 percentage points.
Most of China’s digital industry revenue was generated by its leading provincial markets. The top 10 provincial-level regions accumulated 17.21 trillion yuan, increasing by 13.2%. These regions accounted for 83.1% of the nation’s total digital industry revenue and contributed 87% of the overall revenue growth. Among these major markets were Guangdong, Jiangsu, Beijing, Shanghai, and Zhejiang. Central China saw digital industry revenue reach 2.86 trillion yuan, a 28.3% growth from the previous year.
During this six-month period, China also saw significant expansion in digital infrastructure. As of June, the country had 5.102 million 5G base stations. Additionally, there were 32.86 million 10G PON ports capable of supporting gigabit network services. The number of 5G RedCap base stations increased to 2.247 million. Meanwhile, intelligent computing power grew to 2,185 EFLOPS measured using FP16, representing a 177% increase from a year prior. The overall utilization rate of computing resources reached 71.4%.
Expansion of Digital Infrastructure Across China
China had established 52 intelligent computing centers by the end of June, each equipped with over 10,000 accelerator cards. Over 80,000 private 5G industry networks were operational nationwide. Applications leveraging 5G and gigabit optical networks covered 94 key sectors of the national economy. The country also reported more than 26,000 active projects related to 5G and industrial internet. Authorities indicated that 1,260 classified 5G factories had been set up across China.
Manufacturing within the digital sector experienced faster growth in both production and earnings during the first half. The electronics industry’s value-added output increased by 14.8% year-on-year. Revenue among leading electronic information producers hit 12.15 trillion yuan, a 17.8% rise. Their combined profits soared by 66% to 703.6 billion yuan. Key contributors to this profit surge included sectors such as integrated circuits, computer manufacturing, and specialized electronic materials. Electronics output growth outpaced the overall industrial growth rate by 9.4 percentage points.
Software and IT Services Continue Steady Expansion
The sector of digital services in China also showed notable growth in the first half of 2026. The total volume of telecommunications business increased by 8.3% at constant prices from the previous year. Revenue from software and information technology services rose by 9.5%. Specifically, software product revenue grew by 6.9%, and IT services revenue advanced by 10.4%. Major internet firms reported a 10.1% increase in revenue alongside a 16.6% rise in total profit compared to the same period in 2025.
These digital industry figures come amid ongoing growth in technology-related services, which continue to surpass the overall economy. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China’s economy expanded by 4.7% in the first half of 2026. The sectors of information transmission, software, and information technology services experienced a 10.7% growth in added value during this period. The digital economy in China encompasses electronic information manufacturing, telecommunications, software and IT services, and internet-related services, all of which remain integral to the country’s broader digital development.