China’s major industrial firms saw a smaller decline in profits in November, signaling a potential turnaround for the sector. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), profits fell by 7.3% year on year to 799.4 billion yuan ($109.5 billion), improving from a 10% decline in October.
Some industries witnessed significant profit growth. The nonferrous metal smelting and rolling processing industry posted a 20.2% increase, while the electricity and heat production and supply industries saw a 13.5% rise. The textile industry reported a 4.6% growth, and the computer, communication, and electronic equipment manufacturing sectors grew by 2.9%.
Yu Weining, a statistician with the NBS’s Industrial Department, attributed the improved performance to policy measures aimed at stimulating industrial growth. “Despite a continued overall decline in profits, the policy combination effect has helped narrow the decline, with a notable increase in the profitability of high-end, intelligent, and green manufacturing industries,” Yu stated.
In November, the high-end equipment manufacturing sector experienced rapid profit increases. Opto-electronic device manufacturing grew by 41.1%, and aerospace-related equipment manufacturing rose by 14.3%.
The surge in smart and automated products led to profit gains in related industries. Wearable smart devices and graphics computing saw a remarkable profit increase of 90.3%, while profits for measuring instruments grew by 31.3%.
Yu noted that while industrial profits continue to decline, the narrowing of losses indicates improving efficiency as the benefits of policy measures take effect.
Looking ahead, officials at a national work conference held in Beijing projected that the value-added output of major industrial enterprises is expected to grow by around 5.7% year on year in 2024. The manufacturing sector is anticipated to remain stable with continued expansion in investment. Additionally, a national industrial-financial cooperation platform is set to help enterprises raise more than 1 trillion yuan in funds.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
