The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's manufacturing sector stood at 50.4 in March, up 1.4 percentage points from the previous month, official data showed Tuesday.
The positive rebound followed two consecutive months of contraction, indicating improvement in China's manufacturing activity. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while one below 50 reflects contraction. The sub-index for new orders stood at 51.6 in March, up 3 percentage points from last month.
From an industry perspective, the sub-indices for new orders in sectors such as equipment manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing rose to above 53 and 54 from the previous month, respectively.
The new order indices for the two sectors have remained in expansion territory for 20 and 14 consecutive months, respectively, indicating that demand in the new growth drivers continues to expand.
Driven by the rising demand in the consumer goods market following the Spring Festival, the new order index for consumer goods manufacturing reached to above 52, up more than 3 percentage points from last month.
"By industry, the equipment manufacturing, high-tech manufacturing, raw material manufacturing, and consumer goods manufacturing sectors have all shown signs of recovery. Positive developments have been seen across large, medium, and small enterprises, and the overall market is trending upward," said He Hui, vice president of the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing.
The sub-index for production rose to 51.4, up 1.8 percentage points month on month.
The purchasing volume index stood at 50.9, up 2.7 percentage points from the previous month.
"With both supply and demand expanding simultaneously, manufacturing firms have accelerated production, and market demand has improved significantly. As companies have become more willing to purchase, this month's purchasing volume index has also risen above the threshold," said Huo Lihui, a chief statistician with the National Bureau of Statistics.
China's manufacturing PMI at 50.4 in March
China's Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao outlined the key priorities of the 32nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting, which opened on Friday in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province.
In an interview with CGTN ahead of the two-day meeting, Wang said free trade, digital cooperation and green economy are high on the agenda of the meeting.
"The key areas include advancing regional economic integration and the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, supporting the World Trade Organization (WTO) in strengthening digital cooperation and developing green economy. At present, the international situation is marked by intertwined turbulence and chaos, with intensified geopolitical instability. The rise of unilateralism and protectionism poses serious challenges to the international economic and trade order, disrupting global and Asia-Pacific development. Against this backdrop, all parties have higher expectations for this trade ministers' meeting, hoping that it can build consensus and deliver outcomes," Wang said.
This year marks China's third time hosting the APEC meetings and the 35th anniversary of its membership.
By 2025, China had become the largest trading partner of 13 APEC economies. Trade between China and APEC economies reached 3.7 trillion U.S. dollars, accounting for 57.8 percent of China's total foreign trade.
China has signed 24 free trade agreements or economic and trade arrangements with 31 countries and regions, including 15 APEC economies. In recent years, China has also completed upgrades of free trade agreements with APEC economies such as Singapore and Peru.
The minister said that China has always been a firm supporter and an important contributor to APEC.
"We have actively shared our vast market and development opportunities with all parties. China's door to the world will only open wider and wider. Facing the common challenges, China will continue to fulfill its responsibilities as a major country, further deepen reform, expand high-standard opening-up, and continue to provide new opportunities for the Asia-Pacific region and the world with its new achievements in Chinese modernization," the minister said.
China's Commerce Minister outlines priorities for 32nd APEC trade ministers' meeting
