Profits of China's major industrial firms grew 16.5 percent in the first five months of 2018, quickening from the 15-percent expansion for the January-April period, official data showed Wednesday.

In May alone, combined profits at industrial companies each with annual revenue of more than 20 million yuan (about 3 million U.S. dollars) went up 21.1 percent year on year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.