According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, China’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) came in at 47 percent in December last year which was 48 in November.
Recent data said, the sub-index for large enterprises stood at 48.3 percent in December, down by 0.8 percentage points from the previous month. Manufacturing demand declined as well.
A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below 50 reflects contraction.
Besides that, the sub-index for production stood at 44.6 percent in December, down by 3.2 percentage points compared to the previous month.
The sub-index for new manufacturing orders dropped in December 2022 by 2.5 percent points from a month earlier to 43.9 percent, a state-controlled news agency reported.
In December, due to the impact of the epidemic and other factors.China’s economic prosperity has generally declined, also the epidemic has had a significant impact on business production and demand, staff presence, logistics and distribution, NBS senior statistician Zhao Qinghe said.
The index has not been in positive territory since September, and December’s figure was lower than the 47.8 percent.
Those measures, which led to unannounced plant closures, disrupted supply chains and forced some companies to close permanently.
For its part, the non-manufacturing PMI — which includes the services and construction sectors — also contracted further this month, to 41.6 percent points from 46.7 percent in November.
The government has set a growth target of about 5.5 percent this year, after reaching its goal of over 8 percent in 2021.
