China's manufacturing, service activities continue to improve as January's comprehensive PMI rises to 50.9

China's comprehensive purchasing managers' index (PMI) came in at 50.9 in January, up from 50.3 in the previous month, indicating an overall stabilization in manufacturing and service activities, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Wednesday.

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

In January, China's manufacturing PMI came in at 49.2, an increase of 0.2 points from 49 in December 2023.

The production index, a sub-index of the manufacturing PMI, stood at 51.3 in January, rising to a near four month high, indicating that manufacturing activity starts to gain pace to grow.

In terms of enterprise size, the PMI for large enterprises was 50.4, up 0.4 points from the previous month to be within the expansion territory. The PMI for medium-sized firms came in at 48.9, up 0.2 from the previous month, whereas that for small enterprises was 47.2, edging down 0.1 points month-on-month, NBS data showed.

January's new order index was 49, up 0.3 from the previous month, indicating that the market demand for the manufacturing industry has slightly improved.

In the month, the non-manufacturing PMI stood at 50.7, up from 50.4 in December, which means that the non-manufacturing industry has maintained expansion, the NBS data showed.