An oil tanker unloads crude oil at a terminal at the port of Chengdu in China’s eastern Shandong province on March 11, 2026.
– | AFP | getty images
Chinese industrial firms saw their profits rise in the first two months of this year as authorities pressed ahead with efforts to stem the impact of industrial overcapacity and weak consumer demand.
National Bureau of Statistics data showed industrial profits rose 15.2% in the January-February period from a year earlier, a sharp jump from a 5.3% rise in December.
For the full year to 2025, China’s industrial profits rose 0.6% from a year earlier, ending three consecutive years of decline as authorities reined in aggressive price competition and companies doubled exports to meet overseas demand.
Beijing has tried to contain the consequences of the disruption in oil shipments from the Middle East caused by the US-Israeli attacks on Iran. Tehran has since closed the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for energy flows, to most commercial ships, affecting global energy markets.
As rising global oil prices began to weigh on the economy, China raised maximum prices for retail gasoline and diesel earlier this week, but reduced the increase to about half the price it normally applies to soften the blow to consumers.
But rising energy prices are expected to have less impact on the world’s second-largest economy than most other countries due to its vast oil reserves and alternative energy sources. Iran has also continued to send millions of barrels of crude oil to China since the war began.
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