appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

liveArticle

appConfig

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sectionsV2

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

json

Zhou Xin

Mainland China’s official purchasing managers index for the manufacturing sector dropped slightly in April, as factory activity moderated following a credit-fuelled recovery in March.
The PMI reading was 50.1, down 0.1 from March, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing showed yesterday.
While this was still in expansionary territory – any reading above 50 reflects growth – the ­result was weaker than expected in light of the aggressive pro-growth policies rolled out by Beijing in March.
Analysts said it showed there were limits to the effects an unprecedented amount of bank credit could have in ­driving sustained economic ­expansion.
“We shouldn’t take China’s economic recovery for granted,” Minsheng Securities analysts Guan Qingyou and Zhu Zhenxin wrote.
Alibaba’s Jack Ma on China’s economy, Hong Kong and the South China Morning Post: full Q&A
New projects and the injection of funds meant China’s growth was not tumbling, they said, but the recovery was relying on policy stimulus.
The PMI data, released every month, is used by analysts and economists to judge the health of the world’s second-biggest ­economy.
After a few black swan events last year – from the stock market rout to a poorly communicated policy on the yuan – the ­mainland’s leaders have achieved some success in assuring the world that the ­economic situation is under control. Some economic indicators were stronger than ­expected in March.
In a Politburo meeting presided over by President Xi Jinping on Friday, the mainland’s leaders agreed the economy faced strong headwinds and said the government would ensure “healthy ­development” of the stock ­market.
As China’s economy splinters along provincial lines, nuanced policy becomes key
PMI sub-indices on output, new orders, export orders and employment dropped in April from March, with only purchase prices increasing substantially after commodities such as steel rebounded sharply.
Meanwhile, the PMI for small businesses deepened its contraction, reflecting that they were bearing the brunt of economic weakness.
While even the reading for big enterprises dropped, these larger businesses appeared relatively better positioned to gain from stimulus policies.
The statistics agency said the PMI was cause for cautious optimism about the world’s second-biggest economy. “Downward pressure on the Chinese economy is still relatively large due to a volatile international environment and growing uncertainties at home,” the agency said.
The mainland also released its non-manufacturing PMI for April, a measure of activity in services. The reading was 53.5, a drop of 0.3 from March.
Construction was a bright spot, as expansion accelerated. The sub-index of business expectation for construction jumped to an all-time high of 66.7.


China to fuse software and steel with US$14tr sector to fix weak links in world’s factory

2,700 China-Japan flights axed in March as rift between Asian powers deepens

Economist Justin Lin urges West to adopt ‘Eastern wisdom’ as China moves up value chain

China’s CRRC drops bid for Lisbon metro deal as EU finds ‘billions’ in subsidies probe

China economy

China’s factory activity grows less than expected as analysts say effects of unprecedented credit ‘have a limit’

A woman works on a production line for energy-saving lamps in a factory in Suining in southwest China's Sichuan province. Photo: EPA

As China’s economy splinters along provincial lines, nuanced policy becomes key 

Provincial slowdowns may spur fresh questions over national expansion. Above, a visitor looks at a scale model of Beijing’s urban development at an exhibit in the capital. Photo: AFP

China’s factory activity falls for seventh month amid sluggish demand as economy slows

China’s manufacturing industry has been hard hit as the nation’s economy slows. Photo: AFP

Alibaba’s Jack Ma on China’s economy, Hong Kong and the South China Morning Post: full Q&A

<p/>

In this Thursday, April 14, 2016 photo, a Chinese national flag flutters against the office buildings at the Shanghai Bund shrouded by pollution and fog in Shanghai, China. World finance officials who meet in Washington this week confront a bleak picture: Eight years after the financial crisis erupted, the global economy remains fragile and at risk of another recession. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)

Interview with Jack Ma Yun, Alibaba Group Chairman, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. 29MAR16 SCMP/Sam Tsang

South China Morning Post Leighton Office. 14DEC15 SCMP/ Dickson Lee

(160407) -- TIANJIN, April 7, 2016 (Xinhua) -- A young child gets made up by professional Peking Opera actor Rui Zhenqi at a kindergarten in north China's municipality of Tianjin, April 7, 2016. A theme activity was held here on Thursday to promote traditional Chinese culture of Peking Opera. (Xinhua/Liu Dongyue) (cxy)

Alibaba founder Jack Ma during the interview in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. Photo: Sam Tsang

News

China

Economy

China Economy