Xinhua reported that China's Purchasing Managers'Index for manufacturing sector remained at 50.6%in December.
China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said that this is the third consecutive month that the PMI figure has stayed above 50%which demarcates expansion from contraction.
Mr Cai Jin vice chairman of the CFLP,said the continued expansion has suggested a trend of moderate economic recovery and a positive start for the new year's economy.
In November,the figure rose to 50.6%from 50.2%in October.
Most of the sub indices saw gains,with the sub index for input prices up 3.2 percentage points to 53.3%from a month earlier.But four sub indices,including new export order and output sub-index,witnessed slight month-on-month declines that were all within one percentage point.
The PMI data is based on a survey of purchasing managers in more than 820 companies and 20 industries.
The December data has shown improvement in enterprises'operations,as the PMI figure for large firms stayed above 50 percent for four straight months.Small and micro enterprises rose 2 percentage points to 48.1%last month.
But Zhang Liqun,an analyst with the Development Research Center of the State Council,a government think tank,said the trend of economic rebound was still weak as the December PMI data stayed at the same level of the previous month.
Judging from the decline in the sub-index of new export order,Zhang said the export condition was still"not good."Considering an upward trend in domestic consumption and investment,the market demand will remain stable.
