The Chinese mainland's manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose to 50.2 in February, marking an increase of 1.1 percentage points from the previous month, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Saturday.
Zhao Qinghe, a senior statistician at the NBS, commented on the PMI data, attributing the improvement to the resumption of work and production across enterprises following the Spring Festival holiday. This resurgence has revitalized business operations and enhanced economic vitality.
The sub-indices for production and new orders saw significant gains, increasing to 52.5 and 51.1 respectively, up by 2.7 and 1.9 percentage points from the prior month. Zhao highlighted that these increases indicate a swift recovery in manufacturing activity post-holiday and a rebound in market demand.
In addition to the manufacturing sector, the non-manufacturing PMI for February stood at 50.4, up by 0.2 percentage points from January. The composite PMI, which combines both manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors, reached 51.1, an increase of 1 percentage point from the previous month.
A PMI reading above 50 signifies expansion, while below 50 indicates contraction. The February data demonstrates that all three major indicators for the Chinese mainland are in the expansion range, underscoring the ongoing economic growth.
