China's official manufacturing purchasing managers' index stood at 49.8 in September, up 0.4 from the previous month, indicating continued improvement in manufacturing and economic activities.

Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday showed that the PMI for large enterprises reached 51.0, up 0.2 from the previous month and above the critical point. The PMI for medium-sized enterprises stood at 48.8, slightly down from the previous month, with business activity remaining largely stable. The PMI for small enterprises rose 1.6 to 48.2, indicating an improvement in business conditions.

A PMI reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below 50 reflects contraction.

Huo Lihui, chief statistician at the National Bureau of Statistics' Service Survey Center, noted that corporate production expansion had accelerated. In September, the production index reached 51.9, up 1.1 from the previous month and hitting a six-month high, indicating accelerated manufacturing output growth. The new orders index stood at 49.7, up 0.2 from the previous month, indicating continued improvement in manufacturing market demand. Driven by the rebound in manufacturing production, enterprises accelerated raw material procurement, with the purchasing volume index rising from 50.4 in August to 51.6.

Huo emphasized that three key sectors are expanding at a relatively fast pace. In September, the PMIs for equipment manufacturing, high-tech manufacturing and consumer goods manufacturing stood at 51.9, 51.6 and 50.6 respectively, all significantly higher than the overall manufacturing sector. Meanwhile, the production and new orders indices for these key sectors remained in expansion territory, indicating active business activity on both the supply and demand sides.

She said market expectations continue to improve. In September, the business activity expectations index reached 54.1, up 0.4 percentage points from the previous month, marking the third consecutive month of growth. This indicates that manufacturing enterprises hold positive expectations for near-term market development.

By industry, sectors such as food processing, automobiles, railway, shipbuilding and aerospace equipment all recorded business activity expectation indices above 57.0, indicating a high level of confidence among enterprises in their respective industries.

The non-manufacturing business activity index stood at 50.0 in September, down 0.3 from the previous month; the composite PMI output index reached 50.6, up 0.1 percentage points from the previous month. The overall expansion of China's economic output has accelerated slightly, according to the NBS.

jiangxueqing@chinadaily.com.cn