China's RatingDog Manufacturing PMI rises to 51.5 in August, beating forecast of 51

China's manufacturing activity expanded in August, with the RatingDog Manufacturing PMI increasing to 51.5 from 50.9 in July, according to the data released on Tuesday by S and P Global, sponsored by RatingDog, a financial technology and credit research firm based in south China's Shenzhen City.

The figure beats the median forecast of 51 in a Bloomberg survey of economists and is above the 50 threshold separating expansion from contraction.

Meanwhile, output and new orders rose at a faster pace, with new orders being up for the 15th consecutive month, the longest period of growth since 2018. Output grew for nine consecutive months, with the latest expansion the strongest in three months.

China's three-month summer movie season closed on Monday with an all-time high total box office revenue, according to official data released on Tuesday.

Data released by the China Film Administration show that this year's summer box office earnings totaled 12.498 billion yuan (approximately 1.86 billion U.S. dollars), up 4.45 percent from the 11.96 billion yuan in the 2025 summer movie season.

Cinemas across the country saw record-setting figures with 340 million viewer admissions -- an increase of 5.86 percent year over year, and 38.51 million screenings in theaters, where Chinese productions claimed nearly 72 percent of the market.

This summer movie season featured more than 100 domestic and international productions across a wide range of genres, offering something for audiences of all ages and tastes.

Hong Kong director Stephen Chow's sports comedy Kung Fu Soccer about a team of female footballers was the top earner, followed by homegrown anti-war drama Once Upon a Time in the Middle East, Chinese animated sensation All Wishes Come True!, Sony-Marvel blockbuster Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Hollywood director Christopher Nolan's latest epic The Odyssey, and Chinese family drama Dear You.

Average ticket prices dropped to a 5-year low this summer season thanks to nationwide promotional campaigns, which helped drive cinema attendance to a new high.

Expanded infrastructure also fueled the boom. By the end of July, 363 new cinemas and 2,215 screens had been added nationwide, bringing theaters closer to audiences than ever before.