Ministry of Industry and Information Technology: Key regions play a prominent role, with 10 major industrial provinces experiencing an approximate 7.2% increase in above-scale industrial added value.

On April 21, the State Council Information Office held a press conference to brief on the development of industry and information technology in the first quarter of 2026. Zhang Yunming, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said that since the beginning of this year, the industrial economy has generally shown an overall trend of moving toward a better outlook, along with steady progress, playing the role of a “keel stone” in stabilizing the macroeconomic landscape. Overall, there are three main features.

First, the industrial economy is growing relatively fast. Among the major categories of industry, 34 industries achieved year-on-year growth in added value. Industries such as electrical machinery, machinery, equipment, chemical industry, general petrochemical equipment, and specialized equipment contributed 51.4% to industrial growth. From a regional perspective, the role of key areas in driving growth is prominent: in 10 major industrial provinces, the growth rate of added value of above-scale industries is about 7.2%.

Second, the industrial structure continues to be optimized. The added value of equipment manufacturing increased by 8.9% year-on-year, contributing nearly 50% to the growth of added value of above-scale industries. The added value of above-scale high-tech manufacturing industries increased by 12.5% year-on-year, with the growth rate accelerating by 3.1 percentage points compared with last year. Emerging industries such as integrated circuit manufacturing and biopharmaceutical manufacturing have been growing rapidly. Technological changes such as artificial intelligence are driving the accelerated rollout of new technologies and new products in sectors such as consumer electronics.

Third, positive momentum continues to accumulate. In above-scale industries, the production and operating benefits of small and medium-sized enterprises are all higher than the average level of above-scale industrial enterprises. Manufacturing investment has stabilized and is rebounding. (People’s Financial News)