The China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) released by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing and the Service Industry Survey Center of the National Bureau of Statistics in August 2023 was 49.7%, up 0.4 percentage points from the previous month. From the perspective of 13 sub-indexes, compared with the previous month, the production index, new orders index, new export orders index, backlog index, finished goods inventory index, purchase volume index, import index, purchase price index, ex-factory price index, raw material inventory index, supplier delivery time index and production and business activity expectations index rose. An increase of 0.2 to 4.1 percentage points; The employment index fell by 0.1 percentage points.

Special analyst Zhang Liqun believes that: the PMI index continued to increase slightly in August, and most of the sub-indicators have increased; It shows that the momentum of economic recovery continues to accumulate and the economy is beginning to show signs of recovery. The order index continued to rise slightly, and the production index has risen to above the line of growth and contraction; Purchasing volume, imports, raw material inventories and other indexes have increased, indicating that driven by market demand, enterprise production activities tend to be active. The expected index of production and business activities continued to improve, indicating that business confidence has strengthened. At the same time, it should be noted that the proportion of enterprises that reflect the lack of market demand is still more than 59%, and the restriction of demand contraction on the production activities of enterprises is still very prominent. We should further improve the effectiveness of policies to expand domestic demand, strengthen the role of government investment in driving investment, reverse the lack of demand as soon as possible, and do our best to consolidate the momentum of economic recovery. At the same time, we should pay attention to the substantial increase in the price index, and pay attention to the relevant work of ensuring supply and stable prices.

The production index was 51.9 percent, up 1.7 percentage points from the previous month. From the perspective of enterprise size, the production index of large and medium-sized enterprises is higher than 50%, 53.7% and 51.6% respectively; The production index for small enterprises is below 50%, at 48.6%.

The new orders index was 50.2 percent, up 0.7 percentage points from the previous month. From the perspective of enterprise size, the new order index of large and medium-sized enterprises is higher than 50%, 51.6% and 50.3% respectively; The new orders index for small businesses was below 50 percent at 47.5 percent.

The new export orders index was 46.7 percent, up 0.4 percentage points from the previous month. In terms of business size, the index of new export orders for large, medium and small enterprises were all below 50%, at 48.6%, 43.7% and 45.2% respectively.

The backlog of orders index was 45.9%, up 0.5 percentage points from the previous month. In terms of business size, the backlog index of large, medium and small enterprises is below 50%, at 47.7%, 45.7% and 42.6% respectively.

The finished goods inventory index was 47.2%, up 0.9 percentage points from the previous month. From the perspective of enterprise size, the finished goods inventory index of large, medium and small enterprises is below 50%, at 47.5%, 47.6% and 46.1% respectively.

The purchasing index was 50.5 percent, up 1 percentage point from the previous month. From the perspective of enterprise size, the purchasing volume index of large enterprises is higher than 50%, at 53%; The purchasing volume index for medium and small enterprises was below 50%, at 49.7% and 46.6% respectively.

The import index was 48.9%, up 2.1 percentage points from the previous month. From the perspective of enterprise size, the import index of large enterprises is higher than 50%, which is 50.6%; The import index for medium and small enterprises was below 50%, at 46.1% and 45% respectively.

The purchasing price index was 56.5%, up 4.1 percentage points from the previous month. From the perspective of enterprise size, the purchase price index of large, medium and small enterprises is above 50%, which is 57.3%, 56.3% and 55.2% respectively.

The ex-factory price index was 52 percent, up 3.4 percentage points from the previous month. From the perspective of enterprise size, the ex-factory price index of large, medium and small enterprises is above 50%, at 52.5%, 51.8% and 50.2% respectively.

The raw material inventory index was 48.4%, up 0.2 percentage points from the previous month. From the perspective of enterprise size, the raw material inventory index of large, medium and small enterprises is below 50%, at 49%, 48.7% and 46.7% respectively.

The employment index was 48%, down 0.1 percentage points from the previous month. From the perspective of enterprise size, the employment index of large, medium and small enterprises is below 50%, 48.9%, 47.5% and 46.9% respectively.

The supplier delivery time index was 51.6%, up 1.1 percentage points from the previous month. In terms of business size, the supplier delivery time index of large, medium and small enterprises is above 50%, at 51.9%, 51.4% and 51.3%, respectively.

The expected index of production and business activities was 55.6 percent, up 0.5 percentage points from the previous month. From the perspective of enterprise size, the expected index of production and operation activities of large, medium and small enterprises is above 50%, which is 57.1%, 56.3% and 51.6% respectively.