Sales of China's high-tech sector up 16.1% y-o-y in Jan-Feb: official data

Sales of China's high tech industry grew 16.1 percent year-on-year in the first two months of this year, the State Taxation Administration (STA) said on Thursday.

According to the official WeChat account of the STA, sales of high tech services rose 17.2 percent, led by technology intermediary services, which grew 25.6 percent year-on-year. Natural scientific research and experimental development sales grew 17.4 percent.

Sales in the high technology manufacturing segment rose 14.5 percent, driven by demand in low altitude economy services, commercial space activities and consumer electronics.

Aerospace equipment manufacturing sales rose 28.5 percent, followed by an increase of 18.4 percent for electronic and communication equipment manufacturing, according to the STA.

These gains come as the Chinese government takes concrete efforts to achieve greater self-reliance and strength in science and technology, a strategic priority for the coming years, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

Sales in research and technical services - an important platform for integrating technological inputs and converting them into value - were up 23.6 percent year on year. Sales in intellectual property (patent) intensive industries increased 12.8 percent, according to the STA data.

Digital real integration is advancing rapidly, the tax data showed. Corporate purchases of digital technologies rose 10.8 percent year on year overall, with manufacturing firms' purchases up 16 percent. Core digital economy industry sales were up 10.8 percent, driven by a rise of 13.3 percent in digital product manufacturing and an increase of 11.9 percent in digital technology application industries.

China's technological innovation and development showed strong momentum in the first two months of this year, with multiple areas posting double-digit year on year gains, said a Chinese expert, adding that the strong performance in early 2026 suggests that China's innovation ecosystem is gaining traction, providing a solid foundation for achieving long-term strategic goals in technological advancement and economic transformation.

Noting that 2026 marks the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30), Chen Binkai, vice president of the Central University of Finance and Economics, said that China's innovation industries show greater industrial vitality, smoother factor flows and deeper digital real integration, the STA readout said.

Chen added that this reflects strengthening endogenous momentum for innovation driven development, consolidates the industrial foundation for technological self reliance, and further highlights the role of technological innovation in high quality development.