Business & IndustryAnalysis
China's Digital Publishing Revenue Reaches 1.88 Trillion Yuan in 2025
An official industry report shows 7.51% year-on-year growth, led by online advertising, gaming, and digital education.
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The Brief
China's digital publishing sector generated 1.88 trillion yuan ($260 billion) in total revenue in 2025, marking a 7.51% increase year-on-year, according to the 2025-2026 Annual Report on China's Digital Publishing Industry released at the 16th China International Digital Publishing Expo. The sector's leading segments remained online advertising, online gaming, online education, and digital music. Over the course of the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the cumulative revenue growth across the digital publishing industry registered double-digit expansion, reflecting continued momentum in digital media consumption.
Why it matters
The steady growth in digital publishing underscores the sustained commercial scale of China's digital content economy, offering insight into monetization trends across entertainment, advertising, and educational platforms.
China context
During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, digital cultural industries have served as a core pillar of China's broader digital economy initiatives, with policymakers prioritizing technological integration and content digitalization.
Editor's View
EDITOR'S VIEW — Analysis and inference, not factual reporting.
The digital publishing figures highlight how broader media consumption in China has structurally shifted toward digital distribution and interactive content. With internet advertising and gaming sustaining top revenue shares, the industry's sustained expansion indicates resilience in digital entertainment and education monetization despite broader macroeconomic adjustments.
What to watch
- Whether detailed revenue breakdowns for individual subsectors are released during the ongoing expo in Shandong.
- How emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and intelligent publishing tools are commercially adopted across traditional and digital publishers.
Key Takeaways
- 1China's digital publishing industry reached 1,879.933 billion yuan in 2025, up 7.51% year-on-year.
- 2The 2025-2026 industry report was released at the 16th China International Digital Publishing Expo in Shandong.
- 3Internet advertising, online gaming, online education, and digital music maintained the top four revenue rankings.
- 4The sector recorded double-digit cumulative growth over the 14th Five-Year Plan period.
China's digital publishing industry reached a total market size of approximately 1.88 trillion yuan (1,879.933 billion yuan) in 2025, representing a 7.51% increase compared to the previous year, according to the 2025-2026 Annual Report on China's Digital Publishing Industry.
The annual report was unveiled on August 27 during the opening of the 16th China International Digital Publishing Expo, held in Shandong province, as reported by People's Daily and China News Service. The figures indicate that the sector has maintained steady expansion, driven primarily by digital and interactive content platforms.
According to the findings, emerging segments within the digital publishing domain continued to experience solid momentum. The top four revenue-generating subsectors remained internet advertising, online gaming, online education, and digital music, reflecting sustained consumer spending and engagement across online content formats.
The report also noted that across the entire 14th Five-Year Plan period, the cumulative revenue expansion of China's digital publishing industry achieved double-digit growth. The expo, which brought together digital publishing stakeholders, showcased various innovations in digital intelligence and publishing technologies, demonstrating ongoing integration between cultural production and digital platforms.
Sources
- Com — People's Daily · 8/27/2026
- 第十六届中国国际数字出版博览会在鲁启幕 数智创新成果荟萃 — China News Service · 8/27/2026