The data offered the first official snapshot of the manufacturing sector after China removed the world’s strictest COVID-19 restrictions last month. Weakening external demand on the back of growing global recession fears amid rising interest rates, inflation and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could further slow China’s exports, hurting its massive manufacturing sector and hampering an economic recovery, they said. “So even though China is opening up, manufacturing is still going to slow down because the rest of the world’s economy is slowing down. GDP expanded 3 percent in the first nine months of last year, compared with China’s official full-year goal of around 5.5 percent. The official composite PMI, which combines manufacturing and services, declined to 42.6 from 47.1.

Source: Taipei Times January 01, 2023 19:01 UTC