China’s Manufacturing PMI Reveals the Pressure on Small Enterprises

China’s Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) in the manufacturing stood at 51.5 in September compared to 51.0 in August, signaling continued improvement in the sentiment. After the COVID-19 shock, China’s official manufacturing PMI climbed quickly from the record low of 35.7 in February to 52.0 in March and stayed above the 50-points-threshold thereafter.

Despite the relatively quick recovery of the large and medium enterprises, small enterprises in China, however, rebounded at a slower pace. The manufacturing PMI for small enterprises in September came in at 50.1, only 0.1 point above the 50-points-mark. Previously, the indicator had been declining from 50.8 in May to 47.7 in August, reflecting the difficult times small enterprises were experiencing.

Further data and analysis on China’s economy is available on the CEIC China Economy in a Snapshot – Q3 2020 report.