Сhina.org.cn reports that data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that China's major industrial companies saw a steady increase in profits in the first seven months of this year amid a stable recovery in market demand and improving business performance.

Industrial firms with an annual business turnover of at least 20 million yuan (about 3.08 million U.S. dollars) raked in combined profits of 4.92 trillion yuan during the period, up 57.3 percent year on year.

Compared with the 2019 level, profits of major industrial firms rose by 44.6 percent in the Jan.-July period. The expansion put the average Jan.-July growth for 2020 and 2021 at 20.2 percent.

In July alone, major industrial firms made 703.67 billion yuan in total profits, up 16.4 percent year on year.

State-controlled industrial firms saw their profits jump 102 percent year on year in the first seven months, while private firms saw profits rise 40.2 percent year on year, the data showed.