BEIJING, CHINA / RankWire.AI / – During the initial six months of 2026, China’s digital industry generated a total revenue of 20.71 trillion yuan, marking a 13.6% increase compared to the same period last year. The sector’s overall profit climbed by 19.3%, reaching 1.79 trillion yuan. According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the industry’s profit margin stood at 8.6%, which is 0.7 percentage points higher than the previous year. These figures encompass key segments of China’s rapidly expanding digital economy.
Leading regional digital markets continued to dominate the industry during this period. The top 10 provincial-level markets collectively generated 17.21 trillion yuan in revenue, increasing by 13.2% year-on-year. These markets accounted for 83.1% of the national digital industry revenue and contributed 87% to the sector’s overall revenue growth. Guangdong, Jiangsu, Beijing, Shanghai, and Zhejiang remained among the country’s most significant digital industry hubs.
Growth in Central China outpaced the national average for digital expansion. The region’s revenue reached 2.86 trillion yuan, a 28.3% increase from the previous year. Infrastructure development in communications and computing also advanced during the first half. By June, China had installed 5.102 million 5G base stations, along with 32.86 million 10G PON ports supporting gigabit network services. The number of 5G RedCap base stations hit 2.247 million.
Expansion of Computing Power and 5G Infrastructure
China’s intelligent computing capacity reached 2,185 EFLOPS measured in FP16 during this period, reflecting a 177% year-on-year growth. The utilization rate across all computing facilities averaged 71.4%. Additionally, China established 52 intelligent computing centers with deployments exceeding 10,000 accelerator cards. Over 80,000 private 5G networks are operational nationwide, and authorities reported more than 26,000 active projects that integrate 5G with industrial internet technologies across the country.
The electronics manufacturing sector demonstrated strong performance in production, revenue, and profit. The value-added output in electronics increased by 14.8% compared to the previous year. Leading electronic information manufacturers recorded a revenue of 12.15 trillion yuan, up 17.8%, with profits rising by 66% to 703.6 billion yuan. Key contributors to this growth included integrated circuits, computer manufacturing, and electronic materials. Electronics output growth surpassed the overall industrial growth rate by 9.4 percentage points during the period.
Software and Internet Services Maintain Growth Trajectory
China’s software and IT services industry continued its upward trend alongside digital manufacturing. During the first half of 2026, sector revenue increased by 9.5%. Revenue from software products grew by 6.9%, while IT services saw a 10.4% rise. Major internet firms experienced a 10.1% increase in revenue, and their combined profits grew by 16.6% compared to the same period last year. The telecommunications sector also expanded, with business volume rising by 8.3% at constant prices.
Compared to China’s broader economy, the digital industry advanced at a faster pace in the first six months of 2026. The National Bureau of Statistics reported an economic growth rate of 4.7%. The sectors of information transmission, software, and IT services registered a 10.7% increase in added value. China’s digital industry encompasses electronic information manufacturing, telecommunications, software, IT services, and internet-related businesses, all of which contributed trillions of yuan in revenue during the first half of the year.