China's industrial profits up 1.4% in Jan-April

China's industrial sector continued its recovery momentum in the first four months of 2025, with profits of major industrial firms rising 1.4 percent year on year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.

April alone saw profits grow 3.0 percent year on year, up 0.4 percentage point from March, marking the second consecutive month of improvement, driven by policy stimulus and robust gains in advanced manufacturing sectors.

The recovery was led by equipment manufacturing and high-tech industries. Profits in equipment manufacturing surged 11.2 percent year on year in the first four months, contributing 3.6 percentage points to overall industrial profit growth, with seven of the eight sub-sectors posting double-digit growth.

Profits in specialized equipment and general machinery sectors rose 13.2 percent and 11.7 percent, respectively. Consumer goods industries, such as home appliances, also saw a double-digit increase. NBS statistician Yu Weining attributed the growth to policy measures, including large-scale equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-in programs.

Yu highlighted that the data underscores China's industrial resilience with emerging sectors offsetting traditional weaknesses, while cautioning "external uncertainties and weak domestic demand persist" and stressing the need to consolidate recovery foundations.