CRI听力:China Manufacturing Business Activity Improves slightly in April

Official data shows Chinese manufacturing business activity continued improving in April, with an important index remaining in expansion territory.

The manufacturing purchasing managers' index or PMI, a key measure of factory activity, came in at 50.1 last month.

The reading is unchanged from March's figure, but up slightly from February's reading.

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

Zhao Qinghe, a senior statistician with the National Bureau of Statistics, says the manufacturing sector still faces downward pressure.

"The manufacturing PMI has in recent months been fluctuating at the critical point and in April stayed at 50.1 percent, the same as in the previous month. This indicates that China's manufacturing sector has been kept basically stable. But we must not lose sight of the existing downward pressure."

Experts say the downward pressure is reflected in weak demand both at home and abroad.

The new orders sub-index came in at 50.2 percent in April, unchanged from March's reading, but was lower than in previous years on a year-on-year basis.

The sub-index for new export orders fell to 48.1 percent, the lowest monthly reading since November 2013.

Meanwhile, the data also shows service sector activity expanded at a slower pace in April.

The purchasing managers' index for the non-manufacturing sector fell slightly to 53.4 last month.

Cai Jin, vice-president of the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, attributes the slight fall to a slowdown in the construction industry.

"The PMI for the non-manufacturing sector fell because the construction industry slowed from a high level. Actually the service sector reflects steady operation in the market."

The steady development of the service sector is supported by progress made in fields including postal services, wholesale, Internet, software, and information technology.