China’s industrial profits jumped 18.2% year-on-year in the January-April 2026 period, following a 15.5% rise in the first quarter. The strong rise was attributed to rising AI-related demand and surging oil prices stemming from the Middle East conflict. State-owned enterprises posted solid growth, with profits rising 17.1% to CNY 827.15 billion. Joint-stock companies also reported a 24.0% jump in profits to CNY 1,883.44 billion. Private firms remained a key driver, though profit growth eased to 23.7% from 25.4% in Q1, reaching CNY 651.14 billion. By sector, manufacturing continued to lead gains, with profits climbing 20.4%, followed by mining at 26.0%, while utilities profits fell 1.9%. Among industries, notable increases were seen in computer, communication, and other electronic equipment manufacturing (107.7%) and non-ferrous metal smelting and rolling processing (117.8%). In April, industrial profits surged 24.7%, the biggest gain since November 2023, after a 15.8% growth in March.