Employees work on a production line of an electrical equipment company in Liuzhou City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Sept. 21, 2023. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)

The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's manufacturing sector came in at 50.2 in September, bouncing back to the expansion zone, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed Saturday.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below 50 reflects contraction.

This is the first time since April that the PMI for China's manufacturing sector has surged above 50, following four consecutive months of growth, according to the NBS.

Saturday's data also shows that non-manufacturing PMI came in at 51.7 in September. The figure, also standing above the boom-or-bust line, went up 0.7 percentage points from a month earlier.

Commenting on the business activities in the country's manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors, NBS statistician Zhao Qinghe noted that favorable policies that have been gradually taking effect helped drive the growth of overall economic prosperity.

China has stepped up its counter-cyclical adjustment to stabilize market expectations recently. Earlier this month, it cut the financial-institution reserve requirement ratio for the second time since the start of this year, to consolidate the foundation for economic recovery and keep liquidity reasonably ample.

A slew of favorable policies targeting key sectors including real estate have also injected confidence into the market. Recently, China relaxed the criteria identifying first-home buyers to allow more people to benefit from preferential policies, and lowered the interest rates of existing first-home mortgages.

The NBS data shows that both manufacturing and non-manufacturing businesses maintained a stable outlook as the sub-indexes measuring market expectations were in the high-climate zone.

The data also reveals that market demand continued to show recovering momentum in the manufacturing sector, and business activities have been expanding at a faster pace, Zhao noted.

The new order index for the sector edged up 0.3 percentage points from a month earlier to 50.5 this month, while the production index went up 0.8 percentage points to 52.7 during the period, the NBS data shows.

However, the survey conducted by the NBS also shows that the manufacturing sector was still facing pressure in terms of recovery and development this month, due to high raw-material costs, financial constraints and intensifying competition in relevant industries.

In the future, the country needs to focus on promoting the effective implementation of the policies and measures that have been introduced, and further consolidate the sustained recovery of the economy, Zhao added.