China industrial profits jump 24.7% in April, fastest gain in over two years despite headwinds

Employees work on the production line of automotive display chips at a workshop on May 22, 2026 in Huzhou, Zhejiang Province of China. Vcg | Visual China Group | BEIJING — China's industrial profits in April surged by 24.7% from a year earlier, according to official data released Wednesday, despite broader signs of slowing economic momentum. The increase marked the fastest growth since November 2023, according to financial data provider Wind Information, accelerating from a 15.8% rise in March . For the first four months of the year, enterprise profits rose 18.2% , up from 15.5% growth in the first quarter. Computing and electronics equipment manufacturing, the largest sector by profit amount, saw earnings more than double from a year ago, although the pace slowed slightly in April from March on a year-to-date basis. Among the ten largest sectors by profit, the oil and gas extraction industry saw profits climb by 8.1% in the first four months of the year, reversing a 1.4% drop in the first quarter. Rising crude prices drove profits for the petroleum processing industry to 40.42 billion yuan ($5.96 billion) for the first four months of the year, nearly double the 22.94 billion yuan reported for the year as of March. Operating revenues for automobile manufacturers fell 16.8% in the same period compared with a year ago, improving from the 17.7% decline in the first three months. …