China's manufacturing activities set a 17-month record high in September, an official survey showed, indicating a stable economic rebound.
China's Purchasing Managers' Index for the manufacturing sector rose to 51.1 percent in September from 51 percent in August, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said on Tuesday.
A reading below 50 indicates contraction, while anything above signals expansion.
It was the third consecutive month for the index to climb month on month, and September's figure was the highest recorded since May 2012.
Zhang Liqun, researcher at the Development Research Center of the State Council, said the index edged up slightly, but the growth rate was not dramatic, indicating weak rebound momentum.
The sub-index for new orders climbed to 52.8 percent, up 0.4 percentage points month on month.
The sub-index for new export orders gained 0.5 percentage points month on month to reach 50.7 percent in September, while the sub-index for production hit 52.9 percent, up 0.3 percentage points from the previous month, setting a four-month high.
The sub-index for purchasing quantity was 52.5 percent, an eight-month record high. The sub-index for purchasing prices of major raw materials was 54.5 percent, up 1.3 percentage points from the previous month.
Enterprises are more confident in the future of the market, as is reflected in their active purchasing, said Zhao Qinghe, a senior NBS statistician.
However, despite the overall positive signs, growth is imbalanced as large and medium-sized enterprises are improving, but small companies are still having difficulties, Zhao said. A breakdown by enterprise type shows that the large enterprise PMI rose to 52.1 in September, PMI for medium-sized enterprises edged up to 49.7, while the small enterprise PMI fell to 48.8.
J.P. Morgan China economist Zhu Haibin attributed the recent recovery in growth momentum to several factors.First, a shift in economic policies since July, including balanced emphasis on consumption and investment and clarification on the growth floor, helped boost market confidence and support market activity. Manufacturing investment, which has continued to decelerate over the past two years, started to recover in August, he added.
Central bank has improved support of credit to the real economy.
Third, external demand has benefited from improved growth outlook in advanced economies, especially in the Eurozone, Zhu said.
Source: Xinhua
