China’s manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index fell the most in two years in March, due to the outbreak of COVID-19, which is again spreading strongly in China. In addition, the impact of the Ukraine war on the Chinese economy also caused a sharp slowdown in production and demand.
China’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell to 48.1 in March from 50.4 in February, the sharpest decline since February 2020.
The data is in line with China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which said yesterday that the manufacturing PMI fell to 49.5 in March, below 50, from 50.2 in February. This indicates that the manufacturing sector in China is in contraction.
In the first two months of this year, the Chinese economy began to recover. But now China is facing a slowdown after the government announced measures to control production and travel in many cities. For example, in Shanghai, the financial center, and Shenzhen, a technology hub, to contain the outbreak of COVID-19 under the zero COVID policy.