China's manufacturing sector expands at fastest pace in six months - RatingDog

(Sharecast News) - Manufacturing activity in China expanded in September at the fastest pace in six months, according to a private sector survey released on Tuesday. The RatingDog China General manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to 51.2 from 50.5 in August.

This was the second month in a row that it came in above the 50.0 mark that separates contraction from expansion and the rate of improvement was the joint-quickest since November 2024, having matched that seen in March.

RatingDog founder Yao Yu said: "Notably, the sub-indices for both demand and production remained in expansion territory. On the demand side, new orders performed well, while new export orders returned to growth for the first time since March 2025.

"Although new export orders rose only modestly, it was still a relatively positive signal, alleviating some market concerns over the recent weakness in exports. Meanwhile, output continued to expand, and purchasing activity saw the largest increase of the year. Overall business confidence also strengthened again in September."

Separate, official figures from the National Bureau of Statistics showed the purchasing managers' index for manufacturing rose to 49.8 in September from 49.4 the month before, remaining in contraction territory.

The official non-manufacturing PMI, which includes the services and construction sectors, dipped to 50.0 in September from 50.3 in August. This marked the lowest level of the year.