BEIJING (AP) — China’s factory activity eased in April, according to an official survey released Sunday, revealing challenges facing authorities in maintaining momentum in the country’s economic recovery.
According to the government statistics office and an official industry group, the monthly index compiled from surveys of purchasing managers fell to 49.2 from 51.9 in March, on a 100-point scale in which figures per below 50 indicate that manufacturing activity has contracted
Production data, new orders and employment fell from the previous month, the National Bureau of Statistics and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said. However, they pointed out that the production index remained above 50, which meant that there was still expansion.
China’s economic growth accelerated in the first quarter of the year after the abrupt abandonment of anti-virus measures. But authorities warned that the country would still face likely import and export pressures in the coming months amid global economic uncertainty, warning of insufficient domestic demand in the world‘s second-largest economy.
The bureau’s top statistician, Zhao Qinghe, said on Sunday that the decline in the purchasing managers’ index was partly due to inadequate market demand and the relatively high base figure recorded in the first quarter, when the recovery was quick.
Official data also showed that the index measuring non-manufacturing trade activity had fallen to 56.4 from 58.2 in March. The PMI Composite Index fell to 54.4 from 57 the previous month.
The Chinese government this year set an economic growth target for 2023 of “around 5%,” a conservative goal that will only be reached if the Gross Domestic Product grows faster in the coming months.
The government said earlier that the authorities would take measures to “stabilize growth” and stimulate domestic demand, as well as encourage the development of emerging industries.