BEIJING, CHINA / RankWire.AI / – As China’s digital economy continues its rapid development, the sector’s overall performance in the first half of 2026 highlights impressive gains. During this period, China’s digital industry generated a total revenue of 20.71 trillion yuan, reflecting a 13.6% increase compared to the same timeframe last year. Meanwhile, total profits surged by 19.3%, reaching 1.79 trillion yuan. According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the industry’s profit margin stood at 8.6%, which is 0.7 percentage point higher than the previous year. These figures encompass key segments of China’s rapidly expanding digital economy.
During the first half of 2026, the country’s largest regional digital markets remained dominant. The top 10 provincial-level markets achieved a combined revenue of 17.21 trillion yuan, a 13.2% rise from the previous year. These markets accounted for 83.1% of the nation’s total digital industry revenue and contributed to 87% of the overall sector’s revenue growth. Among them, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Beijing, Shanghai, and Zhejiang continued to be prominent hubs for China’s digital industry.
Faster growth was observed in Central China compared to the national average. The region’s revenue reached 2.86 trillion yuan, an increase of 28.3% year-over-year. The country also kept expanding its communications and computing infrastructure in the first half of 2026. By the end of June, China had deployed 5.102 million 5G base stations, along with 32.86 million 10G PON ports supporting gigabit network services. The number of 5G RedCap base stations reached 2.247 million.
Growth in computing power and expansion of 5G networks
China’s intelligent computing capacity hit 2,185 EFLOPS using FP16 measurement during this period, marking a 177% increase from the previous year. Overall utilization of computing resources stood at 71.4%. The country also developed 52 intelligent computing facilities with over 10,000 accelerator cards deployed. Nationwide, more than 80,000 private 5G industry networks were operational, and over 26,000 active projects combining 5G with industrial internet technologies were recorded across China.
In the manufacturing domain, digital advancements yielded notable results in production, revenue, and profit. The electronics industry saw a 14.8% increase in value-added output compared to last year. Major electronic information manufacturers generated 12.15 trillion yuan in revenue, representing a 17.8% growth. Their combined profit experienced a 66% rise, reaching 703.6 billion yuan. Contributions came from sectors such as integrated circuits, computer manufacturing, and specialized electronic materials. During this period, electronics output growth outpaced the overall industrial growth rate by 9.4 percentage points.
Software and internet services continue to expand
The software and IT services industry maintained its upward trajectory, growing in tandem with digital manufacturing. In the first half of 2026, sector revenue increased by 9.5%. Software product sales rose by 6.9%, while IT services revenue advanced by 10.4%. Major internet firms also reported a 10.1% rise in revenue, with their total profit climbing 16.6% from the same period last year. Telecommunications volume, when adjusted for constant prices, grew by 8.3%.
Compared to China’s broader economy, the digital sector outpaced growth during the initial half of 2026. The National Bureau of Statistics reported a national economic growth rate of 4.7% for this period. The sectors of information transmission, software, and information technology services experienced a 10.7% increase in added value. China’s digital industry encompasses electronic information manufacturing, telecommunications, software, information technology services, and internet-related enterprises. Collectively, these segments contributed trillions of yuan in revenue across the country during the first half of 2026.