China's Manufacturing and Service Sectors Both Hit 'Bottom' in February

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Park Sun-mi] Due to the spread of COVID-19, both the manufacturing and non-manufacturing (service) sector economic indicators announced by the Chinese government and private sector for February showed a 'bottom'.

On the 4th, Chinese economic media Caixin announced that China's February service sector PMI (Purchasing Managers' Index), jointly surveyed with the UK market research firm IHS Markit, recorded 26.5. This is the lowest record since the first survey began in November 2005. The January service sector PMI was 51.8.

The PMI uses 50 as the baseline; exceeding 50 indicates economic expansion, while falling below 50 signifies economic contraction.

The economic shock caused by the spread of COVID-19 affected not only the service sector but also manufacturing. The February Caixin manufacturing PMI, announced on the 2nd, was only 40.3. Accordingly, the February Caixin composite PMI also dropped to 27.5.

Not only the Caixin PMI, which mainly surveys small and medium-sized private enterprises, but also the official PMI indicators announced by the Chinese government, which survey large and state-owned enterprises, showed a 'bottom' as well.

Earlier, China's National Bureau of Statistics announced that the official manufacturing PMI for February was 35.7, significantly lower than January's 50, marking the lowest level ever recorded. This is even lower than the lowest record of 38.8 during the global financial crisis (November 2008). The non-manufacturing PMI, which reflects the economic trends of the service and construction sectors, also fell to an all-time low of 29.6 in February.

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