On June 16, the National Bureau of Statistics released data showing that in May, the added value of industries above designated size actually increased by 4.5% year-on-year (the added value growth rate is the actual growth rate after deducting price factors), and the growth rate accelerated by 0.4 percentage points from the previous month.
From a month-on-month perspective, in May, the added value of industries above designated size increased by 0.40% compared with the previous month.
Looking at the three major categories, in May, the added value of the mining industry increased by 2.3% year-on-year, the manufacturing industry increased by 4.4%, and the electricity, heat, gas and water production and supply industry increased by 7.6%.
On the same day, the State Council Information Office held a press conference on the operation of the national economy in May 2026.
When talking about the manufacturing industry, a spokesman for the National Bureau of Statistics said that in May, the added value of the manufacturing industry above designated size increased by 4.4% year-on-year, and the growth rate accelerated by 0.4 percentage points from the previous month.
Among them, the equipment manufacturing industry made a very prominent contribution to the growth of the manufacturing industry. The equipment manufacturing industry above designated size increased by 9.5%, 1.2 percentage points faster than the previous month, and contributed nearly 80% to the growth of all industries above designated size.
The chief statistician of the Industrial Department of the National Bureau of Statistics explained that the added value of eight industries in the equipment manufacturing industry all achieved growth. Among them, the electronics industry grew by 17.0%, the highest growth rate in the past five years, and contributed to the growth of all industries above designated size.
The rate reached 39.2%, ranking first among all major industrial industries; instrumentation, special equipment, automobiles, railways, ships, aerospace, and general equipment industries grew by 10.3%, 9.1%, 8.3%, 7.4%, and 6.7% respectively, maintaining a high growth rate.
Mid- to high-end equipment products have developed steadily, with the output of steam turbines for power stations, civil steel ships, medical equipment and equipment increasing by 70.7%, 70.6% and 20.5% respectively.
At the same time, the industrial structure is optimized and high-end manufacturing leadership is enhanced.
As the manufacturing industry upgrades to the middle and high end of the industrial chain, the added value of high-tech manufacturing above designated size increased by 15.1% year-on-year in May, 2.3 percentage points faster than the previous month.
High-end manufacturing investment also maintained sustained growth, accumulating stamina for the upgrading and development of the manufacturing industry. From January to May, investment in high-tech manufacturing increased by 3.4% year-on-year.
From an industry perspective, the added value of electronic device manufacturing, aircraft manufacturing, special equipment manufacturing for the electronics industry, and biopharmaceutical manufacturing increased by 35.4%, 24.2%, 18.7%, and 14.7% respectively.
In addition, driven by digital development, digital product manufacturing is growing rapidly.
In May, the added value of digital product manufacturing above designated size increased by 13.9% year-on-year, 1.9 percentage points faster than the previous month.
It is worth noting that the rapid development of artificial intelligence applications has significantly enhanced the driving effect on the manufacturing industry. In May, the added value of integrated circuit manufacturing, electronic special materials manufacturing and other industries increased by 87.0% and 29.0% respectively.
In terms of products, “artificial intelligence +” drove the output of sensors, integrated circuits and other products to increase by 24.1% and 22.9% respectively; the booming emergence of embodied intelligence and human-machine collaboration helped the field of robotics develop rapidly, and the output of robot reducers, industrial robots, service robots and other products increased by 44.7%, 27.9% and 19.8% respectively.
Looking at different industries, in May, the added value of 28 of the 41 major industries maintained year-on-year growth.
In terms of products, in May, the output of 300 of the 626 products in industries above designated size increased year-on-year.
Experts point out that new driving forces maintain rapid growth, while traditional industries that are highly related to real estate and infrastructure are generally under pressure. The total growth rate is dragged down by traditional industries, but the industrial structure continues to be optimized. This “K-shaped” differentiation is the main feature of current industrial operations.
A spokesman for the National Bureau of Statistics said that the accelerated conversion of old and new driving forces is a distinctive feature of the current economic operation.
As for the follow-up situation, some experts said that June has entered the peak season for infrastructure construction and major project construction. Overseas demand for equipment manufacturing is still expanding. The high-tech manufacturing PMI has been in the expansion range for 16 consecutive months. Superimposed on the demand related to artificial intelligence, the new driving force has a relatively stable support for industrial growth.
However, the main uncertainties focus on two aspects. One is the sustainability of external demand, and the other is that under the pattern of “strong supply and weak demand”, weak domestic demand and prices will continue to restrict corporate profits and production willingness.
Based on comprehensive judgment, the added value of industrial enterprises above designated size will generally fluctuate within the range of 4.5% to 5.5% in the next few months.
