China’s industrial profits up 179 per cent at US$169.7 billion in Jan-Feb
- Jump extends upwards trend to 10 months as sector bounces back from coronavirus slump, National Bureau of Statistics says
- Despite positive signals, the international situation remains ‘complex and severe, and domestic pandemic control measures cannot be relaxed’, NBS statistician says
China’s industrial firms saw their combined profits for the January-February period soar 179 per cent year on year to 1.11 trillion yuan (US$169.7 billion), according to figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Saturday.
The jump extends the upwards trend to 10 straight months as the sector continues to recover from the coronavirus pandemic. Industrial profits rose by 20.1 per cent in December to 707.1 billion yuan.
Beijing combines its economic data for January and February to minimise distortions caused by the Lunar New Year holiday.
While this year’s numbers were influenced by a low comparison base – China’s industrial profits fell 38.3 per cent in the first two months of 2020 because of the health crisis – they still represent a 72.1 per cent increase from the first two months of 2019, and an annualised increase of 31.2 per cent for the past two years.
China was the only major economy in the world to avoid an economic contraction in 2020, reporting a 2.3 per cent increase in its gross domestic product.
