China's manufacturing PMI continues to improve in September

The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's manufacturing sector stood at 49.8 in September, up 0.4 percentage points from the previous month, official data showed Tuesday.

Data released by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed the index had risen for two consecutive months, indicating further improvement in business sentiment.

Meanwhile, production expansion had accelerated, with the production index reaching its highest level in nearly six months, pointing to robust manufacturing activity.

The recovery was supported by the fading impact of hot and rainy weather in summer as well as the continued effect of policies to boost domestic demand and growth.

Market demand also showed signs of stabilization, as both the new orders index and the new export orders index rose for the second straight month.

"Both supply and demand have shown relatively strong performance. Overall, the national economy is maintaining a steady and positive trend, with market vitality gradually picking up. From the perspective of economic quality, the employment situation is also further improving," said Cai Jin, president of the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing.

According to the data, the employment index rose 0.6 percentage points from the previous month, hitting its highest level since March.

In the consumer goods sector, rising demand driven by the upcoming holidays and new semester season pushed the PMI to 50.6 percent in September, up 1.4 percentage points to the highest level so far this year.

At the same time, large enterprises maintained stable expansion, with their PMI staying in the expansion zone for five months in a row.

Small enterprises also showed improvement, with their PMI up 1.6 percentage points month on month.

"By industry, sectors such as agricultural and sideline food processing, automobiles, railway, shipbuilding and aerospace equipment all saw their business activity expectation indices stand above 57 percent, a relatively high level, reflecting strong confidence among enterprises in future growth," said Huo Lihui, head of the business climate survey division of the Service Survey Center under the National Bureau of Statistics.

The death toll in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip has risen to 71,441 since the conflict between Hamas and Israel erupted on Oct 7, 2023, with the number of injuries reaching 171,329, said Gaza's health authorities on Thursday.

In the past 24 hours, hospitals in Gaza received two bodies, according to the health authorities.

Since the ceasefire agreement took effect on Oct 11, 2025, Israeli attacks have killed 451 people and wounded 1,251 others in the Gaza Strip.