BEIJING, CHINA / RankWire.AI / – In the first half of 2026, China’s digital industry amassed a total revenue of 20.71 trillion yuan, marking a 13.6% increase compared to the same period last year. The sector’s profit reached 1.79 trillion yuan, reflecting a 19.3% growth. China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology noted that the revenue growth rate accelerated by 4.1 percentage points from the previous year. The industry’s profit margin was reported at 8.6%, up 0.7 percentage point.
The majority of the nation’s digital industry revenue was generated by its largest regional markets. The top ten provincial-level regions contributed a combined 17.21 trillion yuan, up 13.2%. These regions accounted for 83.1% of the national digital industry revenue and drove 87% of the overall growth. Among these key markets were Guangdong, Jiangsu, Beijing, Shanghai, and Zhejiang. Meanwhile, Central China’s digital industry revenue reached 2.86 trillion yuan, an increase of 28.3% year-on-year.
Expansion in digital infrastructure also occurred over the six-month period. As of June, China had established 5.102 million 5G base stations. The country also boasted 32.86 million 10G PON ports capable of supporting gigabit network services. The number of 5G RedCap base stations reached 2.247 million. Additionally, intelligent computing capacity grew to 2,185 EFLOPS using FP16 measurement, representing a 177% increase from the previous year. Overall utilization of computing facilities reached 71.4%.
China Continues to Expand Digital Infrastructure
China had developed 52 intelligent computing centers with deployment exceeding 10,000 accelerator cards by the end of June. Over 80,000 private 5G industry networks were operational nationwide. Applications utilizing 5G and gigabit optical networks covered 94 major sectors of the economy. More than 26,000 active 5G and industrial internet projects were underway, with authorities reporting the establishment of 1,260 classified 5G factories across the country.
Digital manufacturing experienced faster growth in output and revenue during the first half. The electronics industry’s value-added output increased by 14.8% compared to the previous year. Major electronic information manufacturers generated 12.15 trillion yuan in revenue, a rise of 17.8%. Their combined profit surged 66% to 703.6 billion yuan. Contributions from integrated circuits, computer manufacturing, and specialized electronic materials played significant roles in the profit growth. Electronics production growth outpaced overall industrial growth by 9.4 percentage points.
Software and IT Services Continue to Grow
The sector of digital services in China also saw ongoing expansion in the first half of 2026. The total volume of telecommunications services increased by 8.3% at constant prices from the same period last year. Revenue from software and information technology services rose by 9.5%, with software products growing 6.9% and IT services increasing 10.4%. Leading internet firms reported a 10.1% rise in revenue and a 16.6% increase in overall profits compared to the same period of 2025.
These figures emerge as technology-related services continue to surpass the growth of the broader economy. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China’s economy grew by 4.7% in the first half of 2026. The value-added of information transmission, software, and IT services grew by 10.7% during this time. The country’s digital industry encompasses electronic information manufacturing, telecommunications, software and IT services, and internet-related services, forming a core segment of China’s overall digital economy.