High-tech sectors contribute over 40% of China's economic growth
High-end manufacturing, the digital economy and modern services contributed more than 40 percent of China's economic growth in the first nine months of 2026, according to the National Development and Reform Commission.
China's economy expanded by 4.6 percent during the period compared with the first nine months of 2025.
Artificial intelligence remains one of the fastest-growing areas. Chinese open-source AI models have been downloaded more than 10 billion times worldwide.
Chinese companies also accounted for more than 90 percent of global humanoid robot shipments, highlighting the rapid expansion of the country's robotics industry.
China's pharmaceutical sector also recorded strong growth. Overseas licensing agreements involving Chinese-developed drugs carried a combined potential value of 130 billion U.S. dollars in the first three quarters, nearly matching the total for all of 2025.
New energy vehicles continued to gain market share. Electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles accounted for 53.6 percent of new vehicle sales in China during the nine-month period.
Value added in high-tech manufacturing grew nine percentage points faster than overall industrial value added at major firms, while equipment manufacturing grew 4.9 percentage points faster.
Value added in the services sector increased by 5.2 percent year on year.
The NDRC estimated the size of China's data industry at more than 6 trillion yuan, or roughly 900 billion U.S. dollars.
According to CCTV+, emerging industries including artificial intelligence, robotics, electric vehicles, digital technologies and biopharmaceuticals are playing an increasingly important role in China's economic growth.
