China's major industrial companies upbeat about business prospects

BEIJING, April 18 (Xinhua) -- China's major industrial companies are optimistic about their business prospects with a continuous increase in their profits, Shan Zhongde, vice minister of industry and information technology, said on Thursday.

Private investment in the manufacturing sector grew 11.9 percent year on year during the first quarter of this year, Shan told a press conference.

According to a survey of 36,000 key manufacturing enterprises, 76 percent expect their industrial output to grow or remain flat in the second quarter of this year compared with one year earlier, he said.

At the end of February, the number of major industrial enterprises rose to 501,000, up 19,000 from the end of 2023, Shan added.

From January to February this year, major industrial enterprises nationwide realized total profits of 914.1 billion yuan (about 128.7 billion U.S. dollars), up 10.2 percent year on year, the National Bureau of Statistics said earlier this week.