BEIJING - The profits of China's centrally-administered State-owned enterprises (SOEs) registered steady growth in 2024, the country's top state assets regulator said on Friday.

Total profits of China's central SOEs reached 2.6 trillion yuan ($361.7 billion) last year, according to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) of the State Council.

In 2024, the total assets of central SOEs exceeded 90 trillion yuan, marking a 5.9 percent increase year-on-year, data from the SASAC showed.

During the year, the fixed-asset investment of central SOEs, including real estate, expanded 3.9 percent year-on-year to 5.3 trillion yuan, the data showed.

In particular, investment in strategic emerging industries totaled 2.7 trillion yuan, marking a remarkable increase of 21.8 percent year-on-year.

According to the SASAC, the central SOEs saw their spending on research and development reach 1.1 trillion yuan in 2024. The figure surpassed one trillion yuan for the third consecutive year.

Speaking at a press conference, Yuan Ye, deputy head of the SASAC, said China's central SOEs performed steadily in 2024, with significant achievements in technological innovation and the cultivation of new quality productive forces.

Looking ahead, Yuan said the SASAC will support central SOEs in playing a greater role in China's technological innovation drive, as he outlined key priorities for the commission in 2025.

The central SOEs should focus on achieving breakthroughs in core technologies and spearheading key national technological projects, Yuan added.

Efforts will also focus on ensuring the more efficient application of technological advances and strengthening enterprise-led collaboration among industries, universities and research institutes, he said.