China's Caixin Manufacturing PMI at 51.5 in December... "Expansion for 5 Consecutive Months"

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Park Sun-mi] Last month’s manufacturing indicators in China showed economic expansion in both private and government surveys.

On the 2nd, Chinese economic media Caixin announced that China’s Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for December last year recorded 51.5. Although this is lower than the 51.8 recorded in November, it exceeded the baseline of 50 for the fifth consecutive month, indicating expansion in the manufacturing sector.

Unlike the manufacturing PMI announced by the National Bureau of Statistics of China on the 31st of last month, Caixin’s PMI mainly surveys small and medium-sized enterprises and private companies.

The government’s official manufacturing PMI, which focuses on large state-owned enterprises and was released earlier, also recorded 50.2 last month, exceeding the baseline of 50 for two consecutive months.

This indicator showing expansion in the manufacturing sector came amid the imminent signing of the Phase One trade agreement between the US and China.

Reports have emerged that Liu He, China’s Vice Premier and head of the Chinese trade negotiation delegation, plans to travel to the US this weekend to sign the Phase One trade agreement. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump announced on Twitter that the Phase One trade agreement will be signed on the 15th. President Trump also mentioned that after the Phase One agreement, he might visit Beijing later to negotiate a Phase Two agreement.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.