China's manufacturing activity index falls, structural upgrade on track

China's manufacturing activity index dipped in October while the structural upgrade of China's economy continued in pursuit of high-quality development.

The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's manufacturing sector fell to 49.3 in October from 49.8 in September, below the 50-point mark that separates expansion and contraction, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Thursday.

Chinese technicians work in a clean room of Ruigu Optical Network Communicationsin Dongguan, Guangdong Province, on May 8, 2019. [Photo: IC/Polaris/Stephen Shaver]

A breakdown of the data showed manufacturing production stayed in expansion zone and raw material delivery continued to accelerate, NBS senior statistician Zhao Qinghe said.

The sub-index for production edged down to 50.8 from 52.3, and that measuring the speed of raw materials delivery by suppliers was down to 50.1 from 50.5, but both were above the 50-point mark.

Among the 21 manufacturing sectors surveyed, 13 saw continuous production expansion.

Global economic slowdown put a dent to market demand, as the sub-index of new export orders slid to 47 from 48.2 and that of import orders dropped to 46.9 from 47.1, said Zhao.

High-tech manufacturing, equipment manufacturing and consumption-related sectors maintained expansion, and the sub-index gauging manufacturing firms' demand for employees rebounded to 47.3 from 47.

The manufacturing PMI readings showed further signs of steady employment and structural upgrade for China's economy, with the high-tech sector and consumption driving high-quality growth, said Wen Tao, an analyst of the China Logistics Information Center.

China's composite PMI edged down to 52 from 53.1, signaling that overall production by manufacturing and non-manufacturing enterprises kept expanding though at a slower pace.

Manufacturing companies remained upbeat about the market outlook with the sub-reading for business expectations at 54.2 in October, higher than the third-quarter average.

Thursday's data also showed the country's non-manufacturing PMI dropped to 52.8 in October from 53.7 in September.

Rapid expansions were seen in industries including air and railway transport, postal and courier service, bank and insurance, with their sub-readings all staying above 65, revealing service enterprises' buoyed market confidence about future market developments, said NBS senior statistician Zhao Qinghe.