Chinese industrial profits fall 1.8% in the first half of the year

According to the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the profits of the companies surveyed amounted to 3.44 trillion yuan (408.7 billion euros) between January and June.

Last month, these companies' profits fell 4.3% compared to the same month in 2024, still a slight improvement compared to the 9.1% year-on-year drop recorded in May.

Profits at China's major industrial companies fell 3.3% in 2024, after already falling 2.3% in 2023 and 4% in 2022.

NBS statistician Yu Weining attributed the annual decline to "multiple factors," including "still insufficient effective demand, downward pressure on industrial prices, and short-term fluctuations."

Official data show differences between types of companies: profits of state-owned companies fell 7.6% in the first half of the year, while those of private companies increased 1.7%, and those of companies with foreign investment or from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan increased 2.5%.

By sector, profits in agricultural processing grew 22.8%, compared with a 53% decline in the mining and coal processing industries.

In June, China concluded a second round of negotiations with the United States to try to establish a new framework for trade cooperation, within the framework of the tariff truce agreed in May, although without concrete progress.

Meanwhile, authorities have stepped up efforts to stimulate domestic demand with fiscal measures and sectoral subsidies, amid a still uneven recovery from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

To compile these statistics, the NBS only took into account industrial companies with an annual turnover of more than 20 million yuan (2.6 million euros).

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