BEIJING, July 1 -- China's manufacturing business activity remained stable in June, with an important index staying in expansion territory, official data showed on Wednesday.

The manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI), a key measure of factory activity in China, posted at 50.2 in June, unchanged from last month, according to data compiled by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion and China's manufacturing PMI figures have been above the expansion/contraction threshold for the last four months.

The production sub-index posted at 52.9, flat from last month. But the second quarter was better than the first, said NBS statistician Zhao Qinghe.

As a sign of economic restructuring, growth of high-tech and consumer products manufacturing continued to beat that of the overall manufacturing, while high energy-consuming industries saw slower growth, Zhao said.

The Sub-index for new orders came at 50.1, 0.5 percentage points lower than last month, as domestic and international demand remained subdued.