China Factory Activity Hits One Year High with 50.4 PMI

China's manufacturing sector expanded at its fastest pace in a year this March, offering a sign of resilience for an economy navigating global supply chain pressures and energy market volatility. The official manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) rose to 50.4 from 49.0 in February, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). This result exceeded analyst forecasts of 50.1 and represents the highest reading in 12 months.

The survey indicated that sub-indexes for both output and new orders moved into expansion territory, with both readings rising above 51. New export orders also saw a significant improvement, climbing to 49.1 from 45.0 in the previous month. This turnaround follows a challenging period where the manufacturing PMI remained in contraction for much of 2025 and the beginning of 2026. The non-manufacturing PMI, which tracks the services and construction sectors, similarly improved to 50.1 from 49.5 in February.