BEIJING, CHINA / RankWire.AI / – During the initial six months of 2026, China’s digital sector generated a total income of 20.71 trillion yuan, marking a 13.6% rise compared to the same period in the previous year. Meanwhile, profits climbed by 19.3% to reach 1.79 trillion yuan. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology highlighted that the sector’s profit margin stood at 8.6%, which is 0.7 percentage points higher than last year. These figures encompass key segments of China’s rapidly expanding digital economy.
Throughout the first half of 2026, China’s largest regional digital markets maintained their dominant position within the industry. The top 10 provincial-level markets collectively generated 17.21 trillion yuan in revenue, reflecting a 13.2% increase from the previous year. These regions accounted for 83.1% of the nation’s total digital industry revenue and contributed 87% to the overall growth of the sector. Guangdong, Jiangsu, Beijing, Shanghai, and Zhejiang remained among China’s leading digital hubs.
Central China outpaced the national digital industry average with a revenue of 2.86 trillion yuan, an increase of 28.3% year-on-year. The country also continued to expand its communications and computing infrastructure in the first half. By the end of June, China had established 5.102 million 5G base stations and supported 32.86 million 10G PON ports enabling gigabit network services. The number of 5G RedCap base stations reached 2.247 million.
Growth in Computing Power and 5G Deployment
China’s intelligent computing capacity hit 2,185 EFLOPS based on FP16 measurements during this period, representing a 177% increase compared to last year. The utilization rate across computing facilities stood at 71.4%. The country also developed 52 intelligent computing centers equipped with over 10,000 accelerator cards each. Over 80,000 private 5G industry networks are now operational nationwide, with more than 26,000 active projects combining 5G and industrial internet technologies across the country.
The digital manufacturing sector also showed robust progress, with gains in production, revenue, and profits. The value-added output in electronics increased by 14.8% from the previous year. Major electronic information manufacturers earned 12.15 trillion yuan in revenue, a 17.8% rise, while their combined profit soared by 66% to 703.6 billion yuan. Growth was driven by sectors including integrated circuits, computer manufacturing, and specialized electronic materials. During this period, electronics output growth outpaced overall industrial growth by 9.4 percentage points.
Software and Internet Service Sectors Continue to Grow
China’s software and information technology services sector maintained its expansion alongside digital manufacturing. Revenue for this sector increased by 9.5% in the first half of 2026. Software product revenue grew by 6.9%, and IT services revenue advanced by 10.4%. Leading internet companies reported a 10.1% rise in revenue, with their total profit increasing 16.6% compared to the same period last year. The volume of telecommunications business also grew by 8.3% when measured at constant prices.
During the first six months of 2026, the digital industry expanded at a faster pace than China’s overall economy. The National Bureau of Statistics reported an economic growth rate of 4.7% for this period. The sectors of information transmission, software, and IT services saw a 10.7% increase in value added. China’s digital economy encompasses electronic information manufacturing, telecommunications, software, IT services, and internet-related activities, which together generated trillions of yuan in revenue during this period.