China's industrial profits decline 1.5% in July, showing signs of recovery

China's industrial sector is beginning to stabilize after months of declining profits. July saw a 1.5% year-on-year profit decrease, which was the smallest decline in five months. For the first seven months, major industrial firms saw profits fall 1.7%.

Performance varied significantly: state-owned companies struggled with 7.5% profit drops, while foreign-invested firms gained 1.8%. The mining sector suffered badly with 31.6% profit decline, but manufacturing and utilities performed well with increases of 4.8% and 3.9% respectively. Government intervention to control price wars and stabilize markets has contributed to this improvement.