Profits at China's major industrial firms grew at a steady pace in the first

four months of the year as the country's economic recovery gained further

momentum, official data showed on Thursday.

China's industrial firms with annual business revenue of at least 20 million

yuan ($3.12 million) saw their combined profits rise 106 percent on a yearly

basis during the January to April period to 2.59 trillion yuan, according to

the National Bureau of Statistics.

The figures represented an annual growth of 49.6 percent when compared

with 2019, with average growth rate in the past two years coming in at 22.3

percent. On a monthly basis, industrial profits rose by 57 percent in April to

768.63 billion yuan.

Industrial profits for the manufacturing sector grew by 114 percent on a

yearly basis to 2.2 trillion yuan. Overall, industrial profits rose steadily due

to the improved demand and lower costs, the NBS said.

According to Zhu Hong, a senior statistician at the NBS, profit growth

remained steady in most of the sectors on a yearly basis, thereby sustaining

the upward growth momentum that began since the second half of last year.

Profits in the mining sector reached 217.1 billion yuan, up 103 percent on a

yearly basis. Higher prices for bulk commodities and improved demand

fueled the profit surge in the mining sector, said Zhu.

Equipment manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing also saw improved

momentum, while consumer goods manufacturing continued its steady

recovery, the NBS said.

Zhu said that overall, the performance of industrial enterprises remained

stable and showed quick recovery during the four-month period. This is

noteworthy, considering that the global COVID-19 situation is still complex,

the foundation for industrial economic recovery is not yet solid and the

profit growth has been uneven. Some of the consumer industries are yet to

return to the pre-pandemic profit growth levels.

Zhu said that the higher bulk commodity prices increased pressure