Data recently released by China’s National Bureau of Statistics showed the Chinese manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) reached 49.2 in November, remaining below the 50-point threshold that marks expansion from contraction. This indicates China’s manufacturing sector declined for the eighth consecutive month, Deutsche Welle Chinese reports.
The latest data shows that Chinese companies have been struggling to recover since the pandemic. Furthermore, the U.S.-China trade dispute has severely impacted many factories and manufacturing sectors. Looking at the sub-indices, production output remained at 50.0, showing a stagnant year-over-year growth; both the new orders and new export orders indices improved compared to October, but still did not return to the expansion range above 50.
The PMI for Chinese small manufacturing companies rose by two percentage points in November, reaching a near six-month high of 49.1. This improvement may be attributed to the resilience of the export sector and the recent reduction of high tariffs by U.S. President Trump, which has partially alleviated the export pressure on Chinese products.
China’s policymakers now face a dilemma: continue pushing through difficult structural reforms, or should they introduce more stimulus policies to boost domestic demand?
Source: Deutsche Welle Chinese, November 30, 2025
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