China's industrial profit decline narrows in June

China's major industrial firms reported a smaller profit decline in June 2023, official data showed Thursday.

Industrial firms with annual main business revenue of at least 20 million yuan (about 2.81 million U.S. dollars) saw their combined profits amount to 719.76 billion yuan last month, down 8.3 percent from a year ago, but narrowing from the 12.6-percent drop in May.

With policies promoting economic growth taking effect, industrial production continued to improve, and business profits maintained the recovery trend last month, said NBS statistician Sun Xiao.

In the first half of the year, the profits of Chinese industrial firms went down 16.8 percent year on year, narrowing by 4.6 percentage points from the first quarter.

During the January-June period, the manufacturing sector posted a better performance, with its profit decline narrowing by 9.4 percentage points from the first quarter.

Equipment manufacturers saw combined profits rise 3.1 percent in the first six months, surging by 20.8 percentage points from the first quarter and reversing the decline.