Visitors watch a robot welding an auto body during the 23rd China International Industry Fair (CIIF) in east China's Shanghai, Sept. 19, 2023. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

BEIJING, Sept. 27- China's major industrial firms saw their profit rebound strongly in August, surging 17.2 percent from a year earlier, in the latest sign of a sustained recovery in the world's second-largest economy.

After a decline of 6.7 percent in July and an 8.3 percent fall in June, this robust growth marks the first increase since the second half of 2022, according to data released on Wednesday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

As the country's pro-growth policies continued to show their impact last month, industrial production saw a steady recovery, with the improvement in industrial profit gathering momentum, said NBS statistician Yu Weining.

In the first eight months of the year, the profits of major industrial firms with annual main business revenue of at least 20 million yuan (about 2.79 million U.S. dollars) reached 4.66 trillion yuan, down 11.7 percent year on year, with the pace of decline narrowing by 3.8 percentage points from the first seven months.

Of the 41 industrial categories monitored by the bureau, 30 posted better performance in terms of profits during the January-August period.

Profit growth for equipment manufacturing was 3.6 percent for the period, accelerating from 1.7 percent registered during the first seven months and leading the overall improvement, Yu said, noting that all business entities recorded better performance.

The combined profit of the country's state-holding enterprises went down 16.5 percent year on year in the first eight months, with the pace of decline narrowing by 3.8 percentage points from the first seven months.

Profits of overseas-funded firms and private companies declined 11.1 percent and 4.6 percent, with the pace of declines narrowing 1.3 percentage points and 6.1 percentage points, respectively, from the January-July period, according to the NBS data.

The data released on Wednesday further confirmed that the Chinese economy gained significant momentum last month. This was evident through various positive indicators, including strong factory production and improving consumer sentiment.