China's consecutive PMI expansion speaks of continuous recovery

BEIJING, April 30 (Xinhua) -- China's manufacturing sector continued to recover in April, while the non-manufacturing sector sustained its vibrancy, releasing signals of strengthening economic momentum.

Official data showed Tuesday that the purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's manufacturing sector was 50.4 in April, down from 50.8 last month.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below 50 reflects contraction.

The manufacturing PMI reading has maintained expansion for two consecutive months, indicating the continuous recovery of the sector, said Zhao Qinghe, a senior statistician of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Zhao said enterprise production accelerated, and the production index rose 0.7 points to 52.9, the highest since April 2023.

China accelerated the implementation of macroeconomic policies in April, unleashing sustained market demand, said Wen Tao, an analyst at the China Logistics Information Center.

"In April, the stable growth in new orders and the digestion of backlog boosted the production activities of enterprises. Additionally, the growth in profits strengthened the willingness of these enterprises to accelerate production," Wen added.

Enterprises of different scales all saw their PMI above the boom-bust line this month, with the readings for large, medium-sized, and small enterprises at 50.3, 50.7, and 50.3, respectively.

New economic drivers maintained brisk expansion. In April, the readings for equipment manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing stood at 51.3 and 53, respectively.

Market sentiment in the manufacturing sector remained stable as the sub-reading for business expectations stood at 55.2, according to the NBS.

Tuesday's data also showed that non-manufacturing activity, specifically in services and the construction sector, came in at 51.2 in April, down from 53 in March.

Despite the continuous recovery momentum, experts also cautioned against pressing challenges confronting enterprise production and operation.

Zhang Liqun, a special analyst with the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, cautioned that constraints in demand remain a significant threat. Zhang emphasized that insufficient demand could pose challenges to enterprises' sales and production, dampening their expectations and leading to reduced production.

Zhang highlighted the importance of enhancing the role of government investment in driving domestic demand, aiming at addressing the insufficient demand as early as possible.