BEIJING, CHINA / RankWire.AI / – In the first half of 2026, China’s digital industry generated 20.71 trillion yuan in revenue. This marks a 13.6% increase compared to the same period last year. Total profits also rose by 19.3%, reaching 1.79 trillion yuan. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology reported an industry profit margin of 8.6%, up 0.7 percentage points from a year earlier. These figures cover key parts of China’s rapidly expanding digital economy.
During this period, China’s largest regional digital markets continued to lead industry activity. The top 10 provincial-level markets produced a combined revenue of 17.21 trillion yuan. Their revenue increased by 13.2% year-over-year. These markets accounted for 83.1% of the national digital industry’s total revenue. They also contributed to 87% of the sector’s overall revenue growth. Guangdong, Jiangsu, Beijing, Shanghai, and Zhejiang remained among the country’s biggest hubs for digital industry activity.
Central China outpaced the national average in digital growth. Revenue in the region reached 2.86 trillion yuan, a 28.3% rise from the previous year. The country also continued developing its communications and computing infrastructure during the first half. By June, China had 5.102 million 5G base stations. Additionally, there were 32.86 million 10G PON ports supporting gigabit network services. The number of 5G RedCap base stations reached 2.247 million.
Expansion of Computing Power and 5G Networks
China’s intelligent computing capacity hit 2,185 EFLOPS using FP16 measurement during this period. This is a 177% increase from the same period last year. Overall utilization across computing facilities stood at 71.4%. China also developed 52 intelligent computing facilities, each with over 10,000 accelerator cards. More than 80,000 private 5G industry networks operated nationwide. Authorities counted over 26,000 active projects that combine 5G with industrial internet technologies across the country.
In manufacturing, digital advancements showed strong progress in production, revenue, and profits. Value-added output in electronics grew by 14.8% compared to last year. Major electronic information manufacturers generated 12.15 trillion yuan in revenue, a 17.8% rise. Their combined profit surged 66% to 703.6 billion yuan. Contributions came from integrated circuits, computer manufacturing, and specialized electronic materials. Electronics output growth exceeded overall industrial growth by 9.4 percentage points during the period.
Software and Internet Services Continue to Grow
The software and information technology services sector in China kept expanding alongside digital manufacturing. Sector revenue increased by 9.5% in the first half of 2026. Revenue from software products grew by 6.9%, while IT services revenue rose by 10.4%. Major internet companies saw their revenue increase by 10.1%. Their overall profit grew 16.6% compared to the same period last year. Telecommunications business volume also climbed by 8.3% at constant prices.
During the first six months of 2026, China’s digital sector outpaced the broader economy. The National Bureau of Statistics reported an economic growth rate of 4.7%. The value added by information transmission, software, and IT services grew by 10.7%. China’s digital industry includes electronic information manufacturing, telecommunications, software, IT services, and internet-related businesses. These segments collectively generated trillions of yuan in revenue during the first half across the country.