China's manufacturing sector picks up pace amid sustained economic recovery

BEIJING, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- China's manufacturing sector registered a faster recovery in September as the government stepped up policy support to unleash domestic demand and bolster the economy.

The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's manufacturing sector came in at 49.8 in September, up from 49.1 in August, official data showed Monday.

The reading marked the highest notch in the recent five months and ended a two-month decline, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

NBS statistician Zhao Qinghe said that the improved PMI indicates manufacturing activities gained momentum this month, showing better performance.

The sub-index on production stood at 51.2 to surpass the boom-bust line of 50, with large, medium and small producers all reporting rising readings, the data showed.

Specifically, sectors such as pharmaceuticals, automobiles, electrical machinery and equipment, and computer and communication devices saw production expansion and more new orders.

The high-tech and equipment manufacturing sectors continued to lead the growth, with their readings coming in at 53 and 52, respectively. The PMI for the consumer goods sector reached 51.1, indicating a notable upward trend.

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

Meanwhile, the PMI for the non-manufacturing sector slightly declined from 50.3 to 50 in September, partly due to the end of the summer travel boom and the frequent occurrence of typhoons, which impacted transportation, cultural, sports and entertainment services.

Service PMI inched down to 49.9 this month, slightly lower than 50.2 in August, while the construction sector continued to expand with a PMI of 50.7.

Despite the modest decline in the non-manufacturing PMI, enterprises in the service and construction sectors remained optimistic, with their expectation indexes at 54.6 and 53.1, respectively.

Monday's data indicated an overall improvement in the country's economic climate and an acceleration in business production, Zhao said.

Recent warming signs in the manufacturing sector and other economic areas reflect a steady economic recovery amid the continuous roll-out of supportive policies.

In March, China introduced an action plan to implement a large-scale equipment upgrade and consumer goods trade-in program to expand domestic demand and bolster the economy. In July, policy support for the program was further strengthened with an additional injection of 300 billion yuan (about 42.81 billion U.S. dollars) through ultra-long special treasury bonds.

Equipment upgrades with a total investment of 800 billion yuan will benefit from the policy this year, while automobile and home appliance sales have already experienced significant growth, according to the National Development and Reform Commission.

Last week, China announced a broader-than-expected policy package to galvanize the economy's rebound.

These policy measures include reducing the reserve requirement ratio for banks and existing mortgage rates, as well as introducing new monetary programs to boost the capital market.