The HSBC purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the Chinese
manufacturing sector indicated a final reading of 50.7 for February this year, rising by 1.0 percentage point compared to the final reading for January of 49.7, as announced by HSBC Holdings PLC on March 1. According to Hongbin Qu, HSBC's chief economist for
China, in February this year the stabilized local demand and declining inventory levels have contributed to the rise in the HSBC PMI. However, it is still too early to conclude that
China's
manufacturing industry has bottomed up. Mr. Qu said that
China's economic data for February will likely not be so good, and he suggested that the Chinese government could implement further fiscal easing measures.