A worker operates with a welding robot at the welding workshop of MBH Fitness Co., Ltd. in Ningjin County of Dezhou City, east China's Shandong Province, Aug. 25, 2026. (Photo/Xinhua)

Beijing - China's manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) edged up in August from a month earlier, signaling improved business sentiment amid policy support and weakening extreme weather effects, while new momentum drivers continued to gain steam, official data showed Monday.

The PMI for China's manufacturing sector stood at 49.8 in August, up 0.6 percentage points from July, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below 50 reflects contraction.

In August, the manufacturing sector's overall business climate saw notable improvement, said Huo Lihui, a chief statistician with the National Bureau of Statistics, citing that among the 21 industries surveyed, 16 reported a higher PMI compared with the previous month.

This sector saw expansion in both manufacturing output and market demand in August. The production sub-index and new orders index climbed to 50.4 and 50.6, up 0.5 percentage points and 2.1 percentage points from July.

Driven by the pick-up in both production and orders, enterprises' willingness to purchase strengthened, with the procurement volume index reaching 50.5, up 1.1 percentage points from the previous month, said Huo.

The development momentum of new growth drivers continued to improve in August, she said.

The PMI for the equipment manufacturing industry and the high-tech manufacturing industry stood at 51.4 and 52.9, respectively, both remaining in the expansion zone.

Affected by recent upward movements in crude oil and non-ferrous metal prices, the purchasing price index for major raw materials and the factory price index for manufacturing stood at 56.6 and 50.4, respectively, up 3.4 percentage points and 2.6 percentage points from the previous month.

The PMI for large manufacturing enterprises came in at 50.6, up 1.1 percentage points from the previous month and returning to the expansion zone.

Wen Tao, an analyst at the China Logistics Information Center, attributed the rebound in domestic manufacturing market demand to multiple factors, including diminishing extreme weather conditions compared with July, further implementation of domestic demand policies, such as the "six major infrastructure networks" initiative, and steady summer consumption.

Wen expected the manufacturing sector to stabilize and pick up further in September, with pro-growth policies set to intensify and extreme weather conditions continuing to ease, while certain segments including automobiles, computers, consumer electronics and textiles are poised to enter their traditional peak season.

The PMI for non-manufacturing sector came in at 49 in August, unchanged from the level in July.

He Hui, vice president of the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP), noted that while the non-manufacturing business activity index remained below 50 percent in August due to seasonal factors such as high temperatures and heavy rainfall, positive structural changes began to emerge.

The driving effect of summer consumption continued to be visible, with business activity indexes for railway transport, air transport, accommodation, scenic spot services, and cultural, sports and entertainment-related industries all staying in expansion territory, said He.

Online shopping-related activities remained vibrant, lifting the business activity index for the postal industry to above 60 percent, a new high for the year, while service consumption potential is expected to continue releasing in the fourth quarter, he said.

Zhang Liqun, a special analyst at the China Logistics Information Center, said the rise in the August PMI indicates that factors supporting economic stabilization have increased, calling for accelerated implementation of existing policies and timely introduction of incremental ones to further strengthen market confidence.

Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, existing policies will be implemented at a faster pace, incremental policies will be moderately rolled out, and market-driven growth drivers will accelerate their release, creating favorable conditions for China's economy to maintain steady and sound development, said He.