China's official manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for May came in at 50.0%, a slight decrease of 0.3 percentage points from the previous month, according to data released jointly by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing.

Meanwhile, the non-manufacturing business activity index and the comprehensive PMI output index stood at 50.1% and 50.5% respectively, rising by 0.7 and 0.4 percentage points from April, indicating that the country's overall economic output continues to expand.

The manufacturing sector held steady, with new growth drivers accelerating their expansion. The production sub-index for manufacturing remained in expansionary territory at 51.2%, while the new orders sub-index was 49.9%, suggesting a slight moderation in market demand.

Analysts noted that while domestic demand remained stable, supported by holiday consumption during the Labor Day break, external demand showed a more pronounced slowdown, with the new export orders sub-index declining by 1.7 percentage points.

Price indices remained elevated but their rate of increase moderated. The sub-index for raw material purchase prices and the ex-factory price index were 60.5% and 51.9% respectively, both down by 3.2 percentage points from the previous month, though still at relatively high levels.

The high-tech manufacturing and equipment manufacturing PMIs stood at 52.9% and 52.1% in May, up 0.7 and 0.3 percentage points respectively, continuing to outperform the overall manufacturing sector. The high-tech manufacturing PMI has now been in expansionary territory for 16 consecutive months.

In the non-manufacturing sector, business activity returned to expansion with the index rising to 50.1%. The construction business activity index improved to 48.8%, up 0.8 percentage points, with infrastructure-related activities showing continued expansion.

The services sector benefited from the concentrated release of consumer demand during the holiday period. Business activity indices for railway transport, scenic area services, and catering all rose significantly, with the catering index climbing over 5 percentage points to above 51%.

The information services sector maintained rapid development, with business activity indices for telecommunications, broadcasting, satellite transmission, and internet software services remaining robust, indicating the sector's key role in fostering new quality productive forces.

Overall, the non-manufacturing sector's景气 level improved in May, with consumption and investment maintaining stable operation. With the full release of various policy effects and the持续发挥 of innovation-driven leadership, the endogenous momentum for economic growth is expected to further accumulate.