New data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reveals the purchasing managers' index for China's manufacturing sector remained stable at 50.1 in April, slightly down from 50.5 in March.
A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while the reading below reflects contraction.
Although down from a month ago, the PMI was still the second high since November and stayed above the boom-bust line for two consecutive months, NBS senior statistician Zhao Qinghe said.
High-tech manufacturing continued to lead the trend and imports and exports showed warning signs, he said when elaborating on the economic indicator. "Businesses reported better profit margins...and the performances of small enterprises improved."
Also, China's non-manufacturing activities eased pace but maintained steady expansion in April.
The non-manufacturing purchasing managers' index came in at 54.3 this month, down from 54.8 in March, the NBS said.
The service sector recorded stable performance, with the sub-index measuring business activity in the industry standing at 53.3, down 0.3 percentage points from that in March.
Indices for sectors including water transport, air transport, postal industry, monetary and financial services, telecom and insurance all stood above 57, indicating robust business growth.
Sub-index for new orders dropped 1.7 points from the previous month to 50.1, while that for sales prices edged down 0.5 points to 50.5, both above the threshold, according to the NBS.
