A worker is busy on the production line at a company in Zunhua City, north China's Hebei Province, Sept. 27, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

Profits of China's major industrial firms grew 1.9 percent year on year in the first 10 months of 2025, extending a solid recovery that has continued for three consecutive months since August, official data showed on Thursday.

Industrial firms with an annual main business revenue of at least 20 million yuan (about 2.8 million U.S. dollars) saw their combined profits total 5.95 trillion yuan during the January-October period, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

NBS statistician Yu Weining attributed the steady improvement to efforts to strengthen domestic circulation and improve the interplay between domestic and international flow, which helped stabilize industrial profit growth and advance high-quality industrial development.

Industrial revenues continued to expand, with major industrial firms reporting a 1.8-percent rise in operating revenue during this period, creating favorable conditions for profit recovery, Yu said.

During the January-October period, profits in the equipment manufacturing sector rose 7.8 percent year on year, with this sector contributing 38.5 percent of the total profits of all major industrial firms.

Among this sector's eight major categories, seven reported profit increases. Profits in the railway, ship and aerospace sector, as well as the electronics sector, recorded double-digit gains of 32 percent and 12.8 percent, respectively. Electrical machinery, general equipment and special equipment producers also reported solid increases in this period.

High-tech manufacturing maintained strong momentum, with profits up 8 percent year on year. Intelligent electronics manufacturing continued to expand with profits in unmanned aerial vehicle manufacturing and intelligent in-vehicle equipment manufacturing surging by 116.1 percent and 114.9 percent, respectively.

Traditional industries, meanwhile, also reported improved performance. In the raw materials sector, profits of graphite and carbon products manufacturing, as well as biochemical pesticide and microbial pesticide manufacturing both grew by more than 70 percent. In the chemical fiber, rubber and plastics sectors, profits of bio-based chemical fiber manufacturers and recycled rubber producers outperformed the broader sector by a wide margin.

Looking ahead, Yu said coordinated policy measures will be advanced to expand domestic demand, optimize industrial structure and foster new growth drivers to invigorate momentum in the industrial sector and further consolidate the foundation of the real economy.

The Chinese economy has demonstrated significant resilience and vitality despite increasing headwinds as it enters the final quarter of 2025, staying on track to achieve its full-year development goals.

A set of key indicators released earlier this month reflected continued economic momentum. Retail sales of consumer goods grew 4.3 percent year on year in the first 10 months, while total imports and exports expanded by a resilient 3.6 percent. In October, the consumer price index reversed a previous decline to rise by 0.2 percent.