China’s manufacturing sees surprise gain in November but analysts warn economic downturn has yet to bottom out

China’s economy showed signs of improvement in November, with the latest figures released on Saturday indicating increased manufacturing activity for the first time in six months, and continued expansion in the construction and services sectors.

But while the National Bureau of Statistics’ numbers will come as good news to Beijing, analysts say a number of issues, from the trade war with the US to high debt levels, will continue to weigh on the economy in the months to come.

The corresponding measure for the construction and service sectors – the non-manufacturing PMI – rose to 54.4 in the month, beating analysts’ expectations of 53.1 and October’s figure of 52.8.

In both cases, a reading above 50 signals growth in the sector, while a score below 50 indicates a contraction.

Despite the increases, Lu Ting, chief China economist at Nomura Securities, said that a similar stronger-than-expected rise in the PMI numbers in March proved to be a false dawn, as the economy continued to flounder in the months that followed.

“We don’t think such a rebound suggests a bottoming out of the economy, as strong growth headwinds remain, especially from the cooling property sector and China’s worsening fiscal situation,” he said.