China's factory activity edges up, snapping 8-month slide

Beijing (AFP) Dec 31, 2025
China's factory activity ticked up slightly in December, official data showed Wednesday, an unexpected silver lining to cap an otherwise lacklustre end to the year for the world's second-largest economy. A key measure of industrial health, the manufacturing purchasing managers' index came in at 50.1 this month, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). That sits just above th