China industrial profits post strongest growth in three months as tech boom widens economic divide

China’s industrial profits grew at their strongest pace last month since June, as a boom in manufacturing tied to artificial intelligence offset drag from persistently weak domestic demand.

Profits at large industrial firms rose 14.4% in September from a year earlier, according to data released Tuesday by the National Bureau of Statistics. For the first nine months of this year, industrial profits climbed 15.5%, slightly below the 15.7% rise in the January-September period.

The strength comes as industrial earnings swung to double-digit growth earlier this year, following a modest gain in 2025 after three straight years of declines, helped by Beijing’s efforts to curb rampant price wars across sectors and surging demand for AI-related equipment.

The global AI boom and higher commodity prices stemming from the war in Iran have lifted earnings for miners, chipmakers and raw-material suppliers this year, even as downstream manufacturers face rising input costs and weak domestic demand.

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