China electronics manufacturing up 15.8% in nine months, profits doubled

WEDNESDAY, 21 OCTOBER 2026

China's electronics industry grew 15.8% in the first three quarters of 2026 and doubled its profits, driven by AI servers and devices. What to fix with your supplier before the next order.

China electronics manufacturing grew 15.8% year on year in value added in the first nine months of 2026, 10.3 percentage points faster than industry as a whole. In the first eight months the sector's profits more than doubled, up 109.9%, driven by products linked to artificial intelligence.

The data presented by China's industry ministry

The figures were presented on 20 October in Beijing, at the State Council Information Office press conference on industrial performance in the first three quarters. They were given by Xie Cun, spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and director of its communications bureau. The ministry calls the sector "electronic information manufacturing": it covers computers, phones and communication equipment, components, printed circuit boards and consumer devices.

At the same press conference the ministry's chief engineer, Wang Weiming, said a package of measures for next-generation smart manufacturing is being drafted, aimed at bringing artificial intelligence across the whole production chain: tiered smart factories, more advanced machine tools and robots, in-line control and inspection systems.

China's electronics industry in numbers, 2026

• Value added in electronics, first three quarters of 2026: up 15.8% on the same period of 2025, 10.3 points above the growth of industry as a whole.
• Sector revenue, January-August 2026: 12.8 trillion yuan, up 20.1% year on year.
• Sector profits, January-August 2026: 847.5 billion yuan, up 109.9% year on year, equal to 62% of the profit growth of all industrial companies above designated size.
• Fixed-asset investment in electronics, first three quarters of 2026: up 9.6% year on year.
• New announced investment in printed circuit boards (PCBs), first half of 2026: about 169.1 billion yuan, an increase of more than four times on the first half of 2025 according to the ministry.

The profit figure is matched by National Bureau of Statistics data, which shows the same 109.9% rise for makers of computers, communication equipment and other electronic devices in the first eight months. Above designated size means companies with annual revenue of 20 million yuan or more. All values are in yuan and the periods differ: growth and investment cover nine months, revenue and profits eight.

Where the investment goes: AI servers and circuit boards

According to the ministry, the main driver is artificial intelligence. In the third quarter more than 20 new smartphones and computers with AI features were launched, and over 100 devices meet level 3 of the national classification of terminal intelligence: phones, computers, televisions, glasses, car cockpits and earphones.

The ministry adds that companies' investment is shifting towards high-end products. The build-out of computing servers and data centres has pulled in projects for high-density interconnect boards, chip packaging substrates and upstream materials. This is where the rise in circuit board investment is concentrated.

The picture should be read alongside another known figure: in the first eight months, while electronics doubled its profits, sectors such as clothing, textiles and furniture saw them fall. China's industrial growth, in other words, is concentrated.

China electronics manufacturing: what it means for importers

The figures describe a sector in strong expansion, but they say nothing about export prices or about capacity for low-end electronic products. The fact that profits and investment are concentrated on servers, complex boards and AI devices does, however, signal that supply chain resources, from circuit board materials to assembly lines, are in demand above all for those products.

For anyone importing items with an electronic part, such as power banks, earphones, chargers, USB gadgets or lamps, it is worth taking this into account in three ways:

The first is offer validity: ask the supplier how long the price holds and which components could change it. The second is the bill of materials: fix in writing the chips, batteries and boards of the approved sample, because an unagreed substitution changes performance and compliance. The third is testing: if a component changes, the test reports for CE marking and for restricted substances (RoHS) must be redone on the new product, not reused.

The data does not prove that consumer electronics suppliers will raise prices, but it suggests not taking the terms of the last order for granted.

Electronic orders with locked specifications

With Chinese electronics up 15.8% in nine months and investment pushed towards AI servers and circuit boards, buyers of electronic gadgets and accessories have an interest in putting in writing what goes inside the product. This is the work La Merce does for companies importing from China: agreeing the bill of materials with the factory, checking production against the approved sample and having tests repeated when a component changes.

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