China's industrial profits rise 1.4 per cent in January-April

Profits at China's industrial firms expanded 1.4 per cent in the first four months of 2025 from the same period last year, official data showed on Tuesday, following a 0.8 per cent gain in the first quarter.

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In April alone, total profits of industrial companies rose 3.0 per cent, according to National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data.

Industrial profit numbers cover firms with annual revenue of at least 20 million yuan ($2.79 million) from their main operations.

China's industrial profits picked up pace in April, official data showed on Tuesday, signalling economic resilience in the face of trade tensions with the United States and lingering deflationary pressures at home.

The world's two largest economies traded tit-for-tat tariffs last month, after US President Donald Trump announced sweeping “reciprocal tariffs” on April 2, then pausing them for most countries while singling out China for levies of 145 per cent.

The import curbs risk derailing China's largely export-led economic recovery, with analysts warning that up to 16 million jobs could be lost if exports to the United States fall by 50 per cent and the truce Beijing and Washington struck earlier this month cannot be converted into a lasting arrangement.

Industrial profits rose 1.4 year-on-year in the January-April period to 2.1 trillion yuan ($292.28 billion), according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), following a cumulative 0.8 per cent increase in the first quarter that had reversed a 0.3 per cent drop over the first two months.

In April alone, profits rose 3.0 per cent, versus a 2.6 per cent rise in March.