China's manufacturing PMI at 50 in May

China's factory activity remained resilient in May, with the official purchasing managers' index holding at the boom-bust line after two straight months of expansion, official data showed on Sunday.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that China's official purchasing managers' index for the manufacturing sector came in at 50.0 in May, staying at the threshold between expansion and contraction despite edging down 0.3 percentage point from April.

The latest PMI readings, according to Huo Lihui, a statistician with the bureau, pointed to continued expansion in China's overall economic output, with enterprise production remaining on a steady footing.

Notably, new growth drivers continued to gain traction. High-tech manufacturing, for instance, posted a PMI reading of 52.9 in May, rising from 52.2 in April, while equipment manufacturing recorded a PMI of 52.1, following a reading of 51.8 in the previous month, with both staying firmly in expansion territory.

Huo said the PMI for high-tech manufacturing had remained above the boom-bust line for 16 consecutive months, underscoring the increasingly prominent role of new growth drivers.

Meanwhile, the sub-index for production stood at 51.2 in May, easing 0.3 percentage point from April but remaining above the 50-point mark, while the new orders gauge edged down 0.7 percentage point to 49.9, suggesting some moderation in market demand, the NBS said.

Non-manufacturing activity regained momentum in May. China's non-manufacturing PMI, which includes sub-indexes for service sector activity and construction, rebounded 0.7 percentage point from the previous month to 50.1 in May, indicating a recovery in non-manufacturing business activity, NBS data showed.

The country's official composite PMI, which encompasses both manufacturing and non-manufacturing activities, stood at 50.5 in May, rising 0.4 percentage point from April, according to the NBS.