<p>China's factory activity grew at its fastest pace in over three years in November, official data showed Monday, as the world's second-largest economy continued its recovery from the coronavirus.</p>.<p>The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), a key gauge of manufacturing activity in China, has largely rebounded following strict measures to curb the virus early in the year, coming in at 52.1 this month.</p>.<p>This was higher than October's reading of 51.4, and remains above the 50-point mark separating growth from contraction.</p>.<p>The latest figures also bring the PMI data back to levels seen in September 2017.</p>.<p>Analysts said improvement in both domestic and external demand boosted manufacturing activity.</p>.<p>"The main driver was a rise in new orders... In particular, the export orders component picked up," said Julian Evans-Pritchard, senior China economist of consultancy Capital Economics.</p>.<p>"This suggests that China's exports continue to benefit from strong foreign demand for Chinese-made goods beyond Covid-19 related products, although fresh lockdowns abroad might have boosted demand for shipments of the latter."</p>.<p>Zhao Qinghe, senior statistician at the National Bureau of Statistics, which publishes the PMI, said Monday both the production and new orders indexes edged up.</p>.<p>Both sub-indexes fared well in industries relating to high-tech manufacturing such as pharmaceuticals, electrical machinery and equipment, he added.</p>.<p>But recovery in the manufacturing industry remains "uneven", Zhao said. Official data showed that small enterprises, which were hurt more by the outbreak, continued to lag behind large businesses.</p>.<p>China is expected to be the only major economy to record positive growth this year.</p>.<p>The non-manufacturing PMI came in at 56.4 in November, slightly higher than the month before, signalling further recovery in the services sector.</p>.<p>Lu Ting, chief China economist at investment bank Nomura, said Monday that China's domestic recovery was on track thanks to its Covid-19 containment, although "an extended pandemic may eventually dampen demand for China's exports if the purchasing power in overseas economies diminishes".</p>.<p>While there were sporadic virus outbreaks in Shanghai, Tianjin and Inner Mongolia, which Lu earlier said could slow recovery in service industries, the impact appears "limited" for now.</p>
<p>China's factory activity grew at its fastest pace in over three years in November, official data showed Monday, as the world's second-largest economy continued its recovery from the coronavirus.</p>.<p>The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), a key gauge of manufacturing activity in China, has largely rebounded following strict measures to curb the virus early in the year, coming in at 52.1 this month.</p>.<p>This was higher than October's reading of 51.4, and remains above the 50-point mark separating growth from contraction.</p>.<p>The latest figures also bring the PMI data back to levels seen in September 2017.</p>.<p>Analysts said improvement in both domestic and external demand boosted manufacturing activity.</p>.<p>"The main driver was a rise in new orders... In particular, the export orders component picked up," said Julian Evans-Pritchard, senior China economist of consultancy Capital Economics.</p>.<p>"This suggests that China's exports continue to benefit from strong foreign demand for Chinese-made goods beyond Covid-19 related products, although fresh lockdowns abroad might have boosted demand for shipments of the latter."</p>.<p>Zhao Qinghe, senior statistician at the National Bureau of Statistics, which publishes the PMI, said Monday both the production and new orders indexes edged up.</p>.<p>Both sub-indexes fared well in industries relating to high-tech manufacturing such as pharmaceuticals, electrical machinery and equipment, he added.</p>.<p>But recovery in the manufacturing industry remains "uneven", Zhao said. Official data showed that small enterprises, which were hurt more by the outbreak, continued to lag behind large businesses.</p>.<p>China is expected to be the only major economy to record positive growth this year.</p>.<p>The non-manufacturing PMI came in at 56.4 in November, slightly higher than the month before, signalling further recovery in the services sector.</p>.<p>Lu Ting, chief China economist at investment bank Nomura, said Monday that China's domestic recovery was on track thanks to its Covid-19 containment, although "an extended pandemic may eventually dampen demand for China's exports if the purchasing power in overseas economies diminishes".</p>.<p>While there were sporadic virus outbreaks in Shanghai, Tianjin and Inner Mongolia, which Lu earlier said could slow recovery in service industries, the impact appears "limited" for now.</p>