BEIJING, CHINA / RankWire.AI / – During the initial six months of 2026, China’s digital sector achieved a revenue of 20.71 trillion yuan, reflecting a 13.6% increase compared to the same period last year. The sector’s total profit stood at 1.79 trillion yuan, marking a rise of 19.3%. China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology indicated that the pace of revenue growth accelerated by 4.1 percentage points from the same timeframe in 2025. Additionally, profit margins climbed to 8.6%, up by 0.7 percentage point.
The majority of the national digital industry revenue was generated by China’s largest regional hubs. The top 10 provincial-level markets collectively produced 17.21 trillion yuan, an increase of 13.2%. These markets contributed to 83.1% of the country’s digital revenue and accounted for 87% of the overall growth in revenue. Among these major regions were Guangdong, Jiangsu, Beijing, Shanghai, and Zhejiang. Central China alone reported a digital industry revenue of 2.86 trillion yuan, representing a 28.3% rise year-over-year.
Expansion in digital infrastructure also occurred over this six-month period. By the end 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-level network services. The number of 5G RedCap base stations increased to 2.247 million. Meanwhile, intelligent computing capacity surged to 2,185 EFLOPS using FP16 measurement, an increase of 177% compared to the previous year. The overall utilization rate across computing facilities reached 71.4%.
Advancements in Digital Infrastructure Across China
China had built 52 intelligent computing facilities with more than 10,000 accelerator cards deployed by the end of June. Over 80,000 private 5G industry networks were in operation nationwide. Applications utilizing 5G and gigabit optical networks spanned 94 major categories within the national economy. Additionally, China reported over 26,000 active 5G and industrial internet projects. Authorities also announced that 1,260 classified 5G factories had been established across the country.
Digital manufacturing experienced accelerated growth in production and profits during the first half of the year. The value-added output in electronics increased by 14.8% compared to last year. Revenue at key electronic information manufacturers reached 12.15 trillion yuan, a rise of 17.8%. Their combined profit grew by 66% to 703.6 billion yuan. Significant contributions to this profit increase came from integrated circuits, computer manufacturing, and specialized electronic materials. The growth rate of electronics output surpassed the overall industrial growth by 9.4 percentage points.
Growth Continues in Software and IT Services
The digital services sector in China also saw notable expansion during the first half of 2026. The total volume of telecommunications operations increased by 8.3% at constant prices compared to the previous year. Revenue from software and information technology services grew by 9.5%. Specifically, software product revenue increased by 6.9%, while IT services revenue rose by 10.4%. Major internet firms reported a 10.1% uptick in revenue and a 16.6% increase in overall profit compared to the same period in 2025.
These figures for the digital industry emerge amidst continued growth in technology-related services, which consistently outpace broader economic expansion. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China’s economy expanded by 4.7% in the first half of 2026. The sectors of information transmission, software, and information technology services experienced a 10.7% growth in value added during this period. The scope of China’s digital industry encompasses electronic information manufacturing, telecommunications, software and IT services, along with internet-related services. These sectors are integral components of the nation’s broader digital economy.