China's cultural sector sees steady growth in Q1

BEIJING -- Major enterprises in China's cultural sector and related industries saw steady growth in both revenue and profits during the first three months of the year, official data showed on Tuesday.

The 80,000 surveyed enterprises raked in nearly 3.4 trillion yuan ($470 billion) in combined revenue in the first quarter, up 6.2 percent year-on-year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The growth rate was 0.2 percentage points higher than the full-year figure for 2024, the bureau said.

The firms' profits rose 29.1 percent year-on-year to 274.4 billion yuan, driven by robust expansion in digital content services, internet information services, online culture and entertainment platforms, as well as the manufacturing and sales of information service terminals.

In the first quarter, enterprises featuring new business forms saw their revenue rise 12.5 percent year-on-year, contributing 83.5 percent to the overall revenue growth of major cultural enterprises. Among them, industries such as the manufacturing of intelligent unmanned aerial vehicles for entertainment, digital publishing and internet advertising services reported particularly strong revenue growth.