Chinese SOEs report 3.5 pct profit growth in first 5 months

Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and state-controlled enterprises reported combined profits of nearly 1.73 trillion yuan (about 254 billion U.S. dollars) in the first five months of 2026, representing year-on-year growth of 3.5 percent, latest government data showed Tuesday.

During this period, these enterprises' total operating revenue came in at roughly 32.82 trillion yuan, down 0.7 percent year on year, according to data released by the Ministry of Finance.

Their debt-to-asset ratio stood at 65.5 percent at the end of May, the data revealed.

This year's government work report released in March states that the country will formulate and implement plans for further deepening SOE and state-capital reform to refine the layout of the state-owned sector and adjust its structure.

Last week, Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing called for deepening reform of state-owned capital and SOEs, making them stronger, better and bigger, and continuously enhancing their core functions and competitiveness, so as to better leverage the leading role of the state-owned economy.