BEIJING, CHINA / RankWire.AI / – In the first half of 2026, China’s digital industry achieved a revenue total of 20.71 trillion yuan, reflecting a 13.6% increase compared to the same period last year. The sector’s profit reached 1.79 trillion yuan, marking a 19.3% rise. China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology noted that the sector’s revenue growth rate accelerated by 4.1 percentage points from the previous year. The profit margin for the industry stood at 8.6%, which is 0.7 percentage points higher than before.
Most of the national digital industry revenue was generated by the country’s leading digital hubs. The top ten provincial-level markets collectively produced 17.21 trillion yuan, an increase of 13.2%. These markets accounted for 83.1% of China’s total digital industry revenue and contributed 87% to the overall growth in revenue. Among these key markets were Guangdong, Jiangsu, Beijing, Shanghai, and Zhejiang. Central China reported digital industry earnings of 2.86 trillion yuan, showing a 28.3% increase over the previous year.
During this six-month period, digital infrastructure development continued to expand. As of June, China had 5.102 million 5G base stations. Additionally, 32.86 million 10G PON ports capable of supporting gigabit network services were in operation. The number of 5G RedCap base stations reached 2.247 million. The capacity for intelligent computing climbed to 2,185 EFLOPS measured in FP16, representing a 177% increase from the same period last year. Overall utilization across computing facilities was recorded at 71.4%.
Expansion of Digital Infrastructure in China
China had established 52 intelligent computing centers by the end of June, each equipped with more than 10,000 accelerator cards. Over 80,000 private 5G industry networks were operational nationwide. Applications utilizing 5G and gigabit optical networks spanned 94 major sectors of the 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 the country.
Faster growth in manufacturing output and profits was observed in the first half of 2026. The electronics industry’s value-added output increased by 14.8% compared to the previous year. Major electronic information manufacturers reported revenue of 12.15 trillion yuan, a 17.8% rise. Their combined profits jumped 66%, reaching 703.6 billion yuan. The strong contributions to profit growth came from sectors such as integrated circuits, computer manufacturing, and specialized electronic materials. Electronics production growth exceeded the overall industrial expansion by 9.4 percentage points.
Growth in Software and IT Service Sectors Continues
The first six months of 2026 also saw ongoing expansion within China’s digital services industry. Total telecommunications activity increased by 8.3% at constant prices from the same period last year. Revenue from software and information technology services grew by 9.5%. Specifically, software products saw a 6.9% increase in revenue, while IT services revenue rose by 10.4%. Major internet firms experienced a 10.1% growth in revenue and a 16.6% boost in total profit compared to the same period in 2025.
These figures reflect that technology-related services continue to outpace the broader economy, which expanded by 4.7% in the first half of 2026, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. During this period, the value added in information transmission, software, and IT services grew by 10.7%. China’s digital industry encompasses electronic information manufacturing, telecommunications, software and IT services, and internet-related services, forming a vital part of the nation’s larger digital economy.