In August this year, the China Caixin Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) indicated a final reading of 50.6, down 0.2 percentage points compared to the final reading for July, as announced by Beijing-based Caixin media group.
Zhong Zhengsheng, chief economist with China Economic and Business Monitor (CEBM), part of Caixin Insight Group, pointed out that the sharp decline in the new order sub-index showed that demand has slackened in the manufacturing industry, though the production sub-index increased. Meanwhile, the employment situation has deteriorated, which will threaten the increase in consumption and exert downward pressure on the economy.
Meanwhile, as announced by China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China’s manufacturing sector was at 51.3 percent in August, up 0.1 percentage point compared to the previous month.