Data released on the 1st by the Service Industry Survey Center of the National Bureau of Statistics and the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing show that in February the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) stood at 51.6%, remaining above 51.0% for the fifth consecutive month.

What development trend does the latest data reflect for manufacturing? Zhao Qinghe, Senior Statistician at the Service Industry Survey Center of the National Bureau of Statistics, offered his interpretation.

In February, the manufacturing PMI rose 0.3 percentage points from the previous month and was 2.6 percentage points higher than the same period last year. Overall, how are the development trend and market conditions of manufacturing?

Zhao Qinghe: The latest manufacturing PMI rose steadily, remaining above 51.0% for the fifth consecutive month, indicating that manufacturing continues to maintain a steady and improving development trend, with market demand picking up and production becoming more active. In February, the production index and new orders index were 53.7% and 53.0%, up 0.6 and 0.2 percentage points respectively from the previous month; domestic and external demand improved somewhat, and imports and exports continued to stabilize and improve. The new export orders index and imports index were 50.8% and 51.2% respectively, both 0.5 percentage points higher than the previous month and in the expansion range for the fourth consecutive month.

What are the current highlights in manufacturing?

Zhao Qinghe: New growth drivers continue to gain strength, and the equipment manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing industries maintain sound development momentum. In February, the PMI for equipment manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing was 53.3% and 54.6%, 1.7 and 3.0 percentage points higher than manufacturing overall, respectively; in particular, the equipment manufacturing PMI was at a nearly three-year high. Among them, the PMI for general equipment, special-purpose equipment, electrical machinery and apparatus, and computer, communications and electronic equipment manufacturing remained in a relatively high prosperity range for consecutive months.

How confident are manufacturing enterprises about the future?

Zhao Qinghe: Manufacturing enterprises' confidence in future development continues to strengthen. The business activity expectations index was 60.0%, rising for two consecutive months and remaining in the high prosperity range, as enterprises remain optimistic about market expectations.

What trends still warrant attention?

Zhao Qinghe: Survey results show that purchase prices of raw materials continued to climb, with the main raw material purchase price index at 64.2%, remaining in the high range above 60.0% for the fifth consecutive month; the price transmission effect has begun to appear, and the ex-factory price index has also been in the expansion range for seven consecutive months, rising 1.6 percentage points from the previous month to 56.3%. In particular, the ex-factory price indices for ferrous and non-ferrous metal smelting and rolling processing rose significantly. In addition, the share of enterprises reporting rising labor costs was at its highest point in nearly a year; among them, the share for small enterprises was 42.3%, 2.5 percentage points higher than manufacturing overall.

What are the PMI figures for enterprises of different sizes?

Zhao Qinghe: The PMI for large enterprises was 53.3%, up 0.6 percentage points from the previous month, with the pace of expansion accelerating somewhat; the PMI for medium-sized enterprises was 50.5%, down 0.3 percentage points from the previous month but above the threshold for the second consecutive month; and the PMI for small enterprises was 46.4%, unchanged from the previous month and remaining in the contraction range.