BEIJING — China's light industry registered steady expansion in 2021 despite the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic, data from the National Development and Reform Commission showed.

The combined operating revenue of enterprises in the sector reached 26 trillion yuan (about $4.1 trillion) last year, and their total profits hit 1.7 trillion yuan, according to the commission.

Companies with annual revenue of at least 20 million yuan raked in 1.4 trillion yuan in profits, up 7.4 percent year-on-year, while their total operating revenue rose 14.4 percent year-on-year to 22.4 trillion yuan.

The export delivery value of these firms stood at 2.9 trillion yuan in 2021, up 15.2 percent year-on-year, with that of nine subsectors including home appliances and plastic products topping 100 billion yuan, respectively.