China’s manufacturing activity rebounded in February following a decline in the previous month, according to official data released on Saturday.
The recovery comes as Beijing grapples with an economic downturn and growing trade tensions with the United States, which has intensified tariffs on Chinese exports.
The world’s second-largest economy continues to struggle with weak domestic demand and a prolonged property sector crisis. At the same time, the risk of an escalating trade war with the US under President Donald Trump looms large.
The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), a key indicator of industrial performance, rose to 50.2 in February, surpassing the 50-point threshold that distinguishes growth from contraction, as reported by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). This marked an improvement from January’s figure of 49.1, when factory output shrank for the first time in four months.
NBS statistician Zhao Qinghe attributed the growth in February to businesses gradually resuming operations after the Chinese New Year holiday.
Meanwhile, the non-manufacturing PMI, which measures activity in the services sector, stood at 50.4, indicating modest expansion.
Despite the improvement, President Xi Jinping has acknowledged that China’s economy continues to face numerous difficulties.
The government is set to convene next week for the annual “Two Sessions” meetings, where policymakers are expected to discuss strategies to protect the struggling economy from further tariff hikes and trade pressures imposed by the Trump administration.
Trump recently announced an additional 10 per cent tariff on Chinese imports, doubling the rate already implemented earlier in the month.
Analysts remain uncertain about the extent of future tariff increases and their potential impact on China’s export-driven economy.
Zhiwei Zhang, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, noted that it remains to be seen “how much the US will raise tariffs next week and how damaging this will be for China’s export orders.”
