Big industrial firms see strong profit growth

China's major industrial firms saw strong profit growth and a decreasing debt ratio in 2017, amid an improving economy, deepening reform, and the government's ongoing deleveraging efforts.

During the first 10 months of the year, total profits of industrial enterprises with annual revenue of more than 20 million yuan ($3 million) amounted to 6.25 trillion yuan, a 23.3 percent increase year-on-year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

In October alone, profits of major industrial firms rose 25.1 percent year-on-year, slowing from 27.7 percent in September, which was the strongest growth since 2011.