According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, investment in China's high-tech industries grew by 5.0% year-on-year during the January-July period of 2026, as the rapid development of new productive forces and the smooth transition between old and new growth drivers continued to reshape the investment landscape.

Investment in High-Tech Industries Accelerates

Emerging industries are being nurtured and expanded at a faster pace, with high-tech sector investment accelerating. In the first seven months of 2026, high-tech industry investment rose 5.0%, up 0.4 percentage points from the first half of the year, contributing 0.5 percentage points to overall investment growth. High-tech manufacturing investment grew 3.3% during this period, accelerating by 0.1 percentage points from the first half. Within this segment, investment in electronic circuit manufacturing surged 57.7%, with an acceleration of 2.1 percentage points, while integrated circuit manufacturing investment increased 11.5%, accelerating by 2.7 percentage points. Lithium-ion battery manufacturing investment climbed 23.0%, and electronic specialty materials manufacturing investment grew 9.4%. High-tech services investment rose 8.4% in the first seven months, a 0.9 percentage point acceleration from the first half, driven by a 19.2% increase in information services investment, which accelerated by 3.7 percentage points amid the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence.

Intellectual Property Product Investment Grows Steadily and Rapidly

Investment in intellectual property products continued to strengthen as innovation-driven development deepened. In the January-July period, national investment in intellectual property products grew 9.1% year-on-year, accounting for 14.8% of total investment, up 2.1 percentage points from the same period last year, and contributing 1.2 percentage points to overall investment growth.

Equipment Purchase Investment Growth Picks Up

The effects of the "two new" policies (referring to new types of infrastructure and new types of urbanization) continued to show, and the accelerated deployment of AI computing power drove rapid growth in equipment purchase investment. In the first seven months, investment in equipment and tool purchases rose 9.0%, accelerating by 0.9 percentage points from the first half, contributing 1.5 percentage points to total investment growth, and accounting for 19.1% of total investment, up 2.8 percentage points year-on-year.

Major Infrastructure Sectors Show Strong Growth

Construction of "two major" projects (referring to major national strategies and major infrastructure projects) proceeded steadily, with the modernization of infrastructure systems, including the "six networks," advancing rapidly. In the first seven months, investment in internet and related services grew 41.3% year-on-year, accelerating by 1.4 percentage points from the first half, while air transport investment rose 15.7%, accelerating by 4.7 percentage points. Water transport investment increased 16.2%, and electricity supply investment grew 16.0%.

Industrial Investment Structure Continues to Optimize

The modernization of the industrial system progressed steadily, with accelerated transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, leading to an improved industrial investment structure. In the January-July period, mining investment grew 3.3%, contributing 0.2 percentage points to total industrial investment growth. Equipment manufacturing investment rose 1.1%, contributing 0.4 percentage points. Within this, investment in railway, ship, aerospace, and other transport equipment manufacturing grew 18.7%, while investment in computer, communication, and other electronic equipment manufacturing rose 7.8%, accelerating by 1.3 percentage points from the first half. Going forward, efforts will focus on accelerating fiscal spending and bond fund usage, promoting the "two major" projects and "two new" tasks, advancing the "six networks" plan, scaling up emerging pillar industries across the supply chain, modernizing the industrial system, and balancing investment in physical assets and human capital to further optimize investment structure and efficiency, strengthening the role of effective investment in improving the supply structure.