A staff member works at a microwave oven factory in Foshan city, south China's Guangdong province, April 1, 2021. In September, the purchasing managers' index PMI for China's manufacturing sector came in at 50.1, up from 49.4 in August, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.
A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below indicates contraction.
The manufacturing PMI bounced back to expansion territory as policies and measures to stabilize the economy continue to take effect this month, and the negative effects of heat waves wane, the bureau's senior statistician Zhao Qinghe said.
In September, the sub-index for production reached 51.5, up 1.7 points from the previous month. Demand continued to improve as the sub-index for new orders increased by 0.6 points from August to 49.8.
Friday's data showed that the PMI for China's non-manufacturing sector came in at 50.6 in September, down from 52.6 in August.
The construction sector maintained brisk expansion in September, with the sub-index for business activities in the sector reaching 60.2, 3.7 percentage points higher than the August level, according to the NBS.
The service sector was weaker this month as the pandemic and other factors weighed on market activities. The sub-index for business activities declined by 3 percentage points from last month to 48.9.