BEIJING, CHINA / RankWire.AI / – In the first six months of 2026, China’s digital industry brought in a total of 20.71 trillion yuan in revenue, reflecting a year-over-year growth of 13.6%. The sector’s total profit reached 1.79 trillion yuan, marking an increase of 19.3%. China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology stated that revenue growth accelerated by 4.1 percentage points compared to the same period last year. The profit margin within the industry stood at 8.6%, up by 0.7 percentage points.
The majority of the nation’s digital industry revenue was generated by its largest regional hubs. The top ten provincial-level markets collectively earned 17.21 trillion yuan, which is a 13.2% rise. These regions accounted for 83.1% of the total digital industry income in China and contributed 87% to the overall revenue growth. Among these key markets were Guangdong, Jiangsu, Beijing, Shanghai, and Zhejiang. Meanwhile, Central China reported digital industry revenue of 2.86 trillion yuan, an increase of 28.3% from the previous year.
During this period, China also saw significant expansion in digital infrastructure. By the end of June, the country had deployed 5.102 million 5G base stations. It also maintained 32.86 million 10G PON ports capable of supporting gigabit network services. The number of 5G RedCap base stations reached 2.247 million. Meanwhile, intelligent computing capacity grew to 2,185 EFLOPS when measured using FP16, representing a 177% increase from a year earlier. Overall utilization of computing facilities reached 71.4%.
Expansion of Digital Infrastructure Across China
China had established 52 intelligent computing facilities 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 covered 94 major sectors of the economy. Additionally, China hosted more than 26,000 active 5G and industrial internet projects. Authorities also reported the establishment of 1,260 classified 5G factories across the country.
Digital manufacturing experienced faster growth in both production and profits during the first half of the year. The electronics industry’s value-added output increased by 14.8% compared to the previous year. Major electronic information manufacturers generated revenue of 12.15 trillion yuan, up by 17.8%. Their combined profit surged 66% to 703.6 billion yuan. Contributions from integrated circuits, computer manufacturing, and specialized electronic materials played a significant role in boosting profits. The output growth rate for electronics surpassed the overall industrial growth by 9.4 percentage points.
Software and IT Services Continue to Grow
The digital services sector in China also saw continued expansion during the first half of 2026. Total telecommunications business volume increased by 8.3% at constant prices compared to the same period last year. Revenue from software and information technology services rose by 9.5%, with software product sales growing 6.9% and IT services revenue increasing 10.4%. Leading internet firms reported a 10.1% rise in revenue and a 16.6% increase in total profit compared to the same period in 2025.
These industry figures come amid ongoing growth in technology-related services, which continue to outperform the broader economy. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China’s economy grew by 4.7% in the first half of 2026. The sectors of information transmission, software, and information technology services experienced a 10.7% increase in added value during this period. China’s digital industry encompasses electronic information manufacturing, telecommunications, software and IT services, and internet-related services, all of which play a central role in the country’s wider digital economy.