- As the country deals with a nationwide surge in COVID-19 cases after the easing of its “zero-COVID” policy, China’s manufacturing contracted for a third consecutive month in December
- According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, the country’s monthly purchasing managers’ index declined to 47.0 from 48.0 in November
- Other sub-indexes in the manufacturing sector, such as those for major companies, production and demand, also declined compared to November
BEIJING, China: As the country deals with a nationwide surge in COVID-19 cases after the easing of its “zero-COVID” policy, China’s manufacturing contracted for a third consecutive month in December, the largest decline since early 2020.
According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, the country’s monthly purchasing managers’ index declined to 47.0 from 48.0 in November, with a figure below 50 indicating a contraction.
Other sub-indexes in the manufacturing sector, such as those for major companies, production and demand, also declined compared to November.
This decline was the worst since February 2020 during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The country of 1.4 billion is now facing a nationwide outbreak, with authorities no longer publishing a daily tally of COVID-19 infections.
In a published analysis of the December data, Zhao Qinghe, senior economist at the statistics bureau, said, “Some surveyed companies reported that due to the impact of the epidemic, the logistics and transportation manpower was insufficient, and delivery time had been extended,” as quoted by Reuters.
In December, the purchasing managers’ index covering the country’s non-manufacturing sector also dropped to 41.6, compared with 46.7 in November.
China is expected to miss its goal of 5.5 percent economic growth this year, with forecasters cutting their outlook to as low as 3 percent in annual growth, which would be the second lowest since the 1980s.
