BEIJING — China's internet and related services sectors have maintained expansion in the first five months, displaying enhanced profitability despite the COVID-19 epidemic, official data showed.

Major internet companies raked in 471.9 billion yuan (about $66.8 billion) in the January-May period, up 14.9 percent year-on-year, 10 percentage points higher than the growth rate registered in the January-April period, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

During the first five months of the year, the operating profit of the industry rose 3.1 percent year-on-year to 53.3 billion yuan.

Meanwhile, the sector's spending on research and development neared 23.7 billion yuan, increasing by 10 percent over the same period in the previous year.

The internet sector has become a key component of China's "new economy" as the country undergoes a shift to growth driven more by technology and consumption.

The MIIT statistics cover enterprises with annual revenue from internet services of above 5 million yuan in the previous year.