China’s tech push fuels fastest profit growth in 4 years amid signs of economic divide

Artificial intelligence demand and technological domestic substitution drove profit growth for Chinese listed companies to its fastest pace in four years in the first half of 2026, underscoring the nation’s “K-shaped” economic structure as it transitions away from credit-fuelled expansion. Profit for firms on the chip-heavy Star Market under the Shanghai Stock Exchange surged more than fourfold from a year earlier in the six months to June, while those on the similarly structured ChiNext board...