China's official purchasing managers' index (PMI) data for April 2026 was jointly released on April 30 by the National Bureau of Statistics Service Industry Survey Center and the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing. The manufacturing PMI registered 50.3%, slightly down by 0.1 percentage point from the previous month but remaining in expansion territory. The non-manufacturing business activity index stood at 49.4%, declining by 0.7 percentage points compared to March. The composite PMI output index was 50.1%, down by 0.4 percentage points from the prior month yet staying above the 50-point mark that separates expansion from contraction, indicating continued expansion in China's overall economic output.
Manufacturing PMI remained above the critical threshold for the second consecutive month in April, reflecting generally stable景气 levels and sustained positive operational trends in the manufacturing sector. Both production and demand continued to expand, with the production index at 51.5% and new orders index at 50.6%. Industries including railway, ship, aerospace equipment, electrical machinery, and computer/communication electronics showed strong production and new order indexes above 53%, indicating rapid release of output and demand. However, sectors like petroleum/coal processing and chemical原料/products remained below the 50-point threshold with weaker market activity. Driven by expanding production and demand, corporate purchasing willingness strengthened further, with the purchasing quantity index rising 0.2 percentage points to 51.1%.
Large, medium, and small enterprises all maintained PMI readings in expansion territory. Large enterprises recorded 50.2%, staying above 50 for five consecutive months, while medium and small enterprises saw significant improvements to 50.5% and 50.1% respectively, rising by 1.5 and 0.8 percentage points from March. Key sectors continued expanding, with high-tech manufacturing PMI at 52.2% and equipment manufacturing at 51.8%, both showing marginal improvement. The consumer goods industry remained in expansion at 50.7%, though energy-intensive industries dropped 1.0 percentage points to 47.9%.
Price indexes remained elevated due to fluctuations in commodity prices, with input prices and output prices registering 63.7% and 55.1% respectively. Market expectations strengthened for the third consecutive month, with the production/operation expectation index rising 1.1 percentage points to 54.5%. Industries including food/beverages, automobiles, and railway/ship/ aerospace equipment maintained high expectation indexes above 58%.
The non-manufacturing sector experienced a contraction in business activity, with the index falling to 49.4%. The services industry declined to 49.6%, though sectors like rail transport, postal services, and telecommunications maintained strong activity above 55%. The services business expectation index improved to 55.4%, entering higher景气 territory. Construction activity weakened further to 48.0%, though construction companies maintained stable expectations with the business outlook index unchanged at 50.5%.
The composite PMI output index of 50.1% indicates that overall enterprise production and operational activities maintained expansionary momentum in April, derived from manufacturing production (51.5%) and non-manufacturing business activity (49.4%).