China’s manufacturing holds regular, rebound leveling off – KIRO 7 Information Seattle

BEIJING – (AP) – China’s production held steady in May, a poll on Monday revealed, adding to signs that post-pandemic recovery is weakening.

A monthly purchasing managers’ index issued by an industry group and the national statistics agency was 51 on a 50-point scale, with numbers above 50 showing an increase in activity. This has changed compared to 51.1. April little changed.

According to the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing and the National Bureau of Statistics, production and import measures rose while orders and employment fell.

This indicated that “market demand is insufficient,” said economist Zhang Liqun in a statement released by the federation.

Chinese manufacturers benefited from the relatively early reopening of the economy in 2020, while exporters benefited from global demand for masks and other medical supplies. They have gained world market share while foreign competitors are still faced with disease control business restrictions.

China’s economic growth rose to 18.3% year over year in the first three months of 2021 as consumer and factory activity picked up. However, forecasters warned that the explosive recovery is coming to an end, as the quarter-on-quarter increase was only 0.6% at the end of 2020.

Consumer spending is back above pre-pandemic levels, but is recovering more slowly than manufacturing and exports.

“Now that the economy is already above the pre-virus trend, we expect the pace of growth to slow this year,” Capital Economics’ Julian Evans-Pritchard said in a report.

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