China's industrial profits rise at slower pace in May amid patchy recovery

Employees work on an engine assembly line at an engine manufacturing factory in Qingzhou, in China's eastern Shandong province on April 16, 2024. (Photo by AFP)

BEIJING: China's industrial profits rose at a much slower pace in May, official data showed on Thursday, underlining the struggles faced by the world's second-largest economy as weak domestic demand crimps overall growth.

Earnings rose 0.7% year-on-year last month after a 4% increase in April while gains over the first five months also eased to 3.4% from 4.3% in the January-April period, according to National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data.