National Bureau of Statistics: The industrial economy was steady and progressive in August, maintaining a new, positive and positive development trend

The Zhitong Finance App learned that Sun Xiao, chief statistician of the Department of Industry of the National Bureau of Statistics, interpreted the industrial production data for August 2026. Overall, in August, the industrial economy progressed steadily and maintained a positive development trend. However, it is also important to note that the external environment is complex and changing, and the industrial economy still faces many challenges in the process of converting old and new kinetic energy. In the next stage, it is necessary to continue to fully, accurately and comprehensively implement the new development concept, accelerate the construction of a new development pattern, actively promote breakthroughs in cutting-edge technology and future industrial development, focus on building emerging pillar industries, continue to promote the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, and promote high-quality development of the industrial economy.

The original text is as follows:

Sun Xiao, chief statistician of the Department of Industry of the National Bureau of Statistics, interprets industrial production data for August 2026

The industrial economy is steady, and upward momentum is improving towards the new structure

——Sun Xiao, chief statistician of the Department of Industry of the National Bureau of Statistics, interprets industrial production data for August 2026

In August, under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core, various departments in all regions effectively implemented more active and promising macroeconomic policies. The country's industrial production rose steadily, the new momentum support was strong, the equipment manufacturing industry grew rapidly, exports of industrial enterprises continued to rise, and the industrial economy showed a trend of new momentum and improved structure.

The growth rate of industrial production is picking up, and new momentum is strongly supported. In August, the value added of industries above the national scale increased by 5.2% year on year, 0.7 percentage points faster than the previous month; excluding seasonal factors, the month-on-month increase was 0.54%. By category, the value added of the mining industry decreased by 1.4%, and the manufacturing industry, electricity, heat, gas, and water production and supply industries increased by 6.1% and 4.9% respectively; by sector, the contribution of new momentum to the industrial economy continued to increase. According to preliminary estimates, in January-August, the new kinetic energy sector represented by high-tech manufacturing and digital product manufacturing contributed more than 50% to the growth of industrial value added above all scales, up more than 2 percentage points from January to July. The supporting effect is obvious.

The equipment manufacturing industry is growing rapidly, and the quality of the industrial structure is improving. In August, the value added of the equipment manufacturing industry above scale increased by 12.1% year on year, accounting for 38.3% of all industries above scale, an increase of 2.2 percentage points over the previous year, and the industrial structure was further optimized. The value added of all eight industries in the equipment manufacturing industry grew. Among them, the electronics industry grew by 17.2%, contributing 35.4% to the growth rate of industries above all sizes, ranking first in all major industrial industries; the instrumentation, railway, ship, aerospace, and special equipment industries achieved double-digit growth, with growth rates of 14.8%, 13.4%, and 11.4% respectively; the electrical machinery, general equipment, automobiles and metal products industries grew by 9.9%, 9.8%, 8.7%, and 8.1% respectively, maintaining a high growth rate. High-end equipment products developed steadily, and production of products such as railway locomotives, civil steel ships, gas turbines, and CNC metal cutting machine tools increased by 133.3%, 38.0%, 36.5%, and 18.2%, respectively.

The high-tech manufacturing industry is growing strongly, and high-quality development is gathering strength towards the new. In August, the value added of large-scale high-tech manufacturing increased 16.7% year-on-year, and the growth momentum was strong. From an industry perspective, the added value of industries such as integrated circuit manufacturing, spacecraft and launch vehicle manufacturing, optoelectronic device manufacturing, and special equipment manufacturing for the electronics industry increased by 101.5%, 36.7%, 36.1%, and 31.2%, respectively. In terms of products, artificial intelligence has driven production of products such as sensors and optical fibers to increase by 42.6% and 20.7% respectively; the robotics field is developing rapidly, and production of products such as industrial robots and robot speed reducers has increased by 34.6% and 11.4%, respectively.

The growth rate of the digital product manufacturing industry remains high, and transformation and upgrading are improving steadily. In August, the value added of large-scale digital product manufacturing increased 15.7% year-on-year, and the growth rate remained high. From an industry perspective, the added value of industries such as electronic components and equipment manufacturing, intelligent equipment manufacturing, and computer manufacturing increased by 22.9%, 14.2%, and 11.9%, respectively. In terms of products, production of electronic products such as smart bracelets, semiconductor discrete devices, and electronic components increased by 86.8%, 19.8%, and 14.3% respectively; production of intelligent production equipment products such as industrial automatic control instruments and control systems, and 3D printing equipment increased by 35.2% and 29.9%, respectively.

Increased supply of green products promotes green industrial development. In August, the green transformation continued to advance, with the added value of bio-based materials manufacturing, biomass gas production and supply industries increasing by 16.5% and 15.1% year-on-year respectively; the electrification transformation continued to advance, and production of products such as electric vehicles and new energy vehicles increased by 31.0% and 21.9% respectively. Strong demand for superimposed energy storage led to a 57.2% increase in lithium-ion batteries; the supply of green materials increased, and production of products such as carbon fiber, composites, and lithium carbonate increased by 19.1% and 18.9% respectively.

Exports of industrial products continued to rise, and the export structure continued to be optimized. In August, large-scale industrial enterprises achieved export delivery value of 1.4 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11.1%. The growth rate was 0.7 percentage points faster than the previous month, and the growth rate continued to rise. The supporting role of the equipment manufacturing industry is obvious. The export delivery value increased by 12.3%, contributing 81.5% to the increase in export delivery value of industries above all scales. Among them, the export delivery value of the electronics industry increased by 9.3%, contributing 32.8% to the increase in export delivery value of industries above the entire scale, ranking first in all major industries; the export delivery value of the automobile, railway, ship, aerospace, special equipment, and electrical machinery industries all achieved double-digit growth, with growth rates of 29.0%, 25.4%, 18.7%, and 11.6%, respectively.

Overall, in August, the industrial economy progressed steadily, maintaining a trend of new, positive and positive development. However, it is also important to note that the external environment is complex and changing, and the industrial economy still faces many challenges in the process of converting old and new kinetic energy. In the next stage, it is necessary to continue to fully, accurately and comprehensively implement the new development concept, accelerate the construction of a new development pattern, actively promote breakthroughs in cutting-edge technology and future industrial development, focus on building emerging pillar industries, continue to promote the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, and promote high-quality development of the industrial economy.

This article was compiled from the official website of the “National Bureau of Statistics”. Zhitong Finance Editor: Liu Jiayin.