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China’s factory activity ticked up slightly in December, official data showed on 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 the 50-point mark separating contractions from expansions. The figure had not been positive since March. December’s reading was significantly higher than a Bloomberg forecast based on a survey of economists, which had predicted the figure to hold steady at 49.2. Additionally, the non-manufacturing PMI rose to 50.2 in December, NBS data showed, returning to positive territory after an unexpected dip to 49.5 the previous month. NBS statistician Huo Lihui hailed “an overall improvement in the country’s economic activity”, according to a statement offering official interpretations of the data. The indicators are encouraging signs for policymakers in Beijing battling persistent headwinds in the domestic economy. Entrenched consumer caution fuelled by a years-long debt crisis in the property sector has weighed on China’s growth outlook, spurring calls for leaders to step up support measures. In a stark indication of China’s consumer woes, retail sales grew in November at their slowest pace in nearly three years, official data showed this month. Reversing the decline has become a top priority for leaders and was a key theme at a closely watched political meeting in Beijing last month focused on economic planning. Authorities announced on Tuesday that 62.5bn yuan ($8.9bn) in new funds would be directed towards an existing consumer goods trade-in scheme in the new year. The subsidies designed to encourage spending will apply to certain big-ticket items including refrigerators, televisions, washing machines, automobiles and computers. Wednesday’s PMI expansions “point to a partial reversal of the recent weakness in investment spending and construction activity”, wrote Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics in a note following the data release. Momentum in the country’s service sector “remains weak”, while growth in manufacturing is heavily dependent on exports, he warned. “The big picture is that the structural headwinds from the property downturn and industrial overcapacity are set to persist in 2026,” he added. China’s economy is expected to have grown “around 5% “ in 2025, President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday, despite “pressure” during a year he described as “very unusual”, state media reported. The announcement came in Xi’s New Year’s Eve speech to a top political consultative body that was reported by state news agency Xinhua. 

China's value-added industrial output expanded 5.2% year-on-year in August and growth slowed from a 5.7% rise in July. In the first eight months of this year, China's industrial output increased by 6.2 percent compared to the same period last year, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, Xinhua News Agency reported.The industrial output is used to measure the activity of large enterprises, each with an annual main business turnover of at least 20 million yuan (about 2.8 million US dollars). A breakdown of the data showed that the manufacturing sector's value-added output increased by 5.7% year-on-year last month, while that of mining grew by 5.1%.The value-added output of the electricity, heat, gas, water production and supply sector rose by 2.4%.China's retail sales of consumer goods, a major indicator of the country's consumption strength, expanded 3.4% year-on-year in August, following a 3.7% rise in July, official data showed.