BEIJING — China’s major industrial firms posted steady profit growth in the first half of the year, further evidence of firming strength in the economy, official data showed on July 27.

The companies reported a 22-percent profit increase in the first six months from one year earlier, slowing from 22.7 percent in the January-May period but much faster than the 8.5-percent increase in 2016, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement.

In June alone, profits of major industrial firms rose 19.1 percent year on year, faster than the 16.7-percent rate in May, it said.