China's factory activity expanded in January for the first time in four months, as both supply and demand improved with the gradual resumption of life and production order, the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Tuesday.
The official purchasing managers index for China's manufacturing sector bounced back to 50.1 in January after reaching 47 in December, the highest since September, NBS data showed, and above the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction.
Shi Zhaohui, second-level inspector of the Service Industry Survey Center of the National Bureau of Statistics, attributed the improvement in China's vast manufacturing sector to the gradual normalcy of production and life order and the implementation of a new COVID-19 response.
Statistics show that the purchasing manager index of 18 of the 21 manufacturing industry segments has increased compared with the previous month, and the purchasing manager index of 11 industries is above 50%.
The index of new orders in consumer goods manufacturing rose by more than 8 percentage points from last month, and the index of new orders in high-tech manufacturing rose by more than 11 percentage points from last month. The new order index and the new export order index of the equipment manufacturing industry rose by more than 10 and 5 percentage points respectively from the previous month, indicating that the domestic and foreign demand of the equipment manufacturing industry has accelerated.
