2025.08.2702:01:53UTC+00China Industrial Profits Drop 1.7% YoY in Jan-July

In the first seven months of 2025, industrial firms in China experienced a 1.7% year-on-year decline in profits, totaling CNY 4.02 trillion. This comes after a 1.8% decrease recorded in the first half of the year, underscoring ongoing challenges in both business and consumer confidence, which are adversely affecting demand and the wider economy. Specifically, profits for state-owned enterprises continued their downward trend with a 7.5% drop, marginally better than the 7.6% fall between January and June. Conversely, the private sector saw modest growth, with profits rising by 1.8%, up from 1.7%. Sector-wise, notable declines were reported in coal mining (-55.2%), oil and gas (-12.6%), chemicals (-8.0%), textiles (-6.5%), and non-metallic minerals (-5.6%). However, some sectors posted gains, particularly agriculture (14.5%), electrical machinery and equipment (11.7%), non-ferrous metals (6.9%), computers and communications (6.7%), general manufacturing (6.4%), heat production (6.3%), special equipment (3.2%), and autos (0.9%). In July alone, profits dipped by 1.5% compared to the previous year, an improvement from the 4.3% decline recorded in June, yet it was the third consecutive month of declining profits.