On November 27, the National Bureau of Statistics released data on the profits of large-scale industrial enterprises. The figures show that from January to October, profits of these firms increased by 1.9% year-on-year, marking the third consecutive month of cumulative growth since August this year.
The equipment manufacturing sector emerged as the primary driver of profit growth, accounting for 38.5% of total profits among large industrial firms. Within high-tech manufacturing, industries such as smart unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) production, smart vehicle equipment manufacturing, integrated circuit (IC) production, and electronic specialty materials manufacturing saw profits surge by 116.1%, 114.9%, 89.2%, and 86.0%, respectively, by the end of October.
Chang Liang, Investment Director at China Jiantou Huake Investment Co., noted that smart vehicle equipment and IC sectors are currently benefiting from a convergence of policy support, technological advancements, and production capacity expansion, with high-growth cycles expected to persist for 12 to 18 months. Meanwhile, Xiong Bin, another Investment Director at the firm, projected that the smart UAV sector’s growth momentum could extend until 2027, entering an accelerated phase of large-scale applications driven by policy incentives.
China’s equipment and high-tech manufacturing sectors have experienced rapid development in recent years. In the first 10 months of this year, profits in large-scale equipment manufacturing rose by 7.8%, contributing 2.8 percentage points to overall industrial profit growth. The sector’s share of total profits increased by 2.0 percentage points year-on-year.
Among sub-sectors, seven out of eight major equipment manufacturing industries reported profit growth, with railway, shipbuilding, aerospace, and electronics sectors achieving double-digit increases of 32.0% and 12.8%, respectively. High-tech manufacturing profits grew by 8.0%, outperforming the industrial average by 6.1 percentage points.
Chang Liang highlighted that under the lens of "new quality productive forces," smart vehicle equipment and IC sectors are in a boom phase fueled by multiple advantages. For instance, domestic IC production capacity is still ramping up, while soaring AI computing demand is widening supply gaps. According to IDC, China’s intelligent computing power is forecasted to reach 1,037.3 EFLOPS by 2025, up 43% year-on-year, with high-end computing chips remaining in short supply.
The smart UAV sector also demonstrated robust performance, with profits soaring 116.1% year-on-year in the first 10 months. Xiong Bin pointed out that the industry is entering a new phase where airspace deregulation, cost reductions, and expanding applications are synergistically driving sustainable growth. China’s civilian UAV market is projected to hit 127.79 billion yuan by 2025, with flight hours in Q3 2025 already nearing three-quarters of the 2024 total, reflecting surging demand.
Technologically, UAVs share over 60% of their supply chain with smart vehicles, and the adoption of automotive-grade chips and sensors is rapidly lowering production costs. UAVs are increasingly integrated into diverse fields such as agriculture, logistics, surveying, and emergency response, with further growth expected as airspace management improves.
Traditional industries also showed strong performance, with graphite and carbon product manufacturing, biochemical pesticides, and bio-based chemical fiber production posting profit growth of 77.7%, 73.4%, and 61.2%, respectively.