In China, since the beginning of the year, a drop in the profits of industrial companies has been recorded. In the first two months, the indicator fell by almost 23% compared to 2022, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics of the PRC. Analysts said the reason was weak demand for products from businesses and the public after the pandemic and severe shutdowns.
According to the ONN, the profits of foreign companies in the country have fallen by more than a third. For the whole of last year, the decline was around 9.5%. In private industrial enterprises in China, profits have fallen since the beginning of the year by 19.5%, in the public sector the figure fell immediately by 17.5%.
According to Reuters, profits fell for companies in 28 of 41 industrial production segments. Analysts attribute the situation to problems in restoring production after the pandemic and the implementation of strict restrictive measures by the authorities.
Another reason, economists say, is rising inflation. Businesses have yet to be able to pass the cost on to consumers as demand has not recovered to date.
Political analysts have previously noted that the West has found a replacement for China in Asia’s anti-Russian bloc.
