On June 16, the National Bureau of Statistics released core industrial production data for May 2026. In May, the value-added of industrial enterprises above designated size nationwide rose by 4.5% in real terms year-on-year, 0.4 percentage points faster than April; the month-on-month growth stood at 0.40%. The cumulative year-on-year growth from January to May reached 5.4%, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
Sector-specific data shows that 28 out of 41 major industrial sectors maintained production growth. The value-added of the textile industry grew by 2.6% year-on-year, achieving a steady recovery. Compared with the overall manufacturing growth rate of 4.4%, the textile sector’s recovery momentum is relatively weak, indicating that traditional light industries are still faced with weak domestic and foreign demand, cost pressures and other challenges.
The data also reflects divergent performance across industries: equipment manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing posted remarkable growth, with the electronic equipment manufacturing sector growing by 17%. In contrast, traditional industries including textiles, chemical engineering and building materials registered moderate growth. Industry insiders analyze that as policies such as consumption stimulus, industrial technological transformation and transition-oriented financial support keep being implemented, coupled with the gradual launch of autumn and winter textile orders, textile production is expected to pick up further in the following months.
