Summary A business survey shows China's manufacturing expanding slightly for the third straight month.
BEIJING: The state-sanctioned China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said Tuesday that its monthly purchasing managers index for December remained at 50.6 on a 100-point scale on which numbers above 50 indicate activity is expanding. New orders overall grew, but export orders dropped slightly, the survey said.
"The momentum of economic growth is relatively weak," Zhang Liqun, an analyst with the Development Research Center of the State Council, a government think-tank, said in the report.
The new data come amid mixed signals that show China s economy recovering from its deepest downturn since the 2008 crisis but growth still weak in some industries.
Separately, HSBC Corp. released its own purchasing managers index Monday also showing expansion, with a reading of 51.1.
