China's industrial profit growth slows to 15.7% through August
Growth in industrial profits has now cooled for a second straight month, easing from July's 17.6% pace as trade talks with the US near a new deal.
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Profits at China's industrial firms rose 15.7% year over year in the January to August period, down from 17.6% in July, according to National Bureau of Statistics data. It marks the second consecutive month of slowing growth after a stretch of acceleration earlier in the year.
The pace had climbed from 15.5% in the first quarter to 18.7% in the January to June period, before easing to 17.6% in January to July and now to 15.7% through August, National Bureau of Statistics releases show. Total profits for industrial enterprises above the designated size, those with annual revenue of at least 20 million yuan, reached 4,582.06 billion yuan in the January to July period, up 17.6% year on year, the bureau said.
The slowdown has not hit all sectors equally. Mining industry profits jumped 34.9% to 666.05 billion yuan and manufacturing profits climbed 18.8% to nearly 3.44 trillion yuan in January to July, Xinhua reported, while profits in the power, heat, gas and water supply sector fell 5.8% to 478.42 billion yuan. Computer, communications and electronic equipment manufacturing profits surged 110% over the same period, with the integrated circuit industry up 18.5-fold, CGTN reported, citing NBS statistician Yu Weining. Industrial firms' operating profit margin reached 5.7% in the first half, the highest year-to-date reading since 2024, according to a China Daily report on the bureau's figures.
Details of a narrower US-China trade deal are due Monday, following Xi Jinping's state visit. The softer profit growth, while still solid, points to industrial momentum moderating even as the two countries edge toward managed trade terms. That combination offers little comfort to those watching for signs of sustained growth, and could weigh on sentiment if the deceleration continues, though near-term progress on trade may cushion the effect for now.