China’s May PMIs show mixed recovery: Services rebound while factory growth moderates

[Data Concept]
ronniechua

China’s economic recovery flashed mixed signals in May 2026, with a strong rebound in the services sector and resilient private manufacturing offsetting a flattening official factory gauge burdened by weak domestic demand and geopolitical headwinds.

The RatingDog China Manufacturing PMI eased to 51.8 from April’s over five-year high of 52.2. However, it comfortably outperformed market expectations of 51.4, signaling continued expansion among smaller, private-sector firms.

China General Manufacturing PMI YaoYu, Founder at RatingDog, said, "Business sentiment regarding the 12-month outlook for production held optimistic. Confidence moderated slightly from April but was broadly in line with the average for the year to date, supported by expectations of higher market demand, rising new orders, and business expansion."

The government's official NBS Manufacturing PMI edged down to 50.0 from 50.3 in April, perfectly matching market forecasts.

The official NBS Non-Manufacturing PMI jumped to 50.1 from 49.4 in April. This beat the market consensus of 49.5 and successfully pushed the services sector back into growth territory.

Driven by the service sector's revival, China’s NBS Composite PMI Output Index ticked up to 50.5 from 50.1 in April. This marks the third consecutive month of overall business activity growth for the world's second-largest economy.

On Monday, the Shanghai Composite [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SHCOMP] fell 0.4% to 4,053, its lowest level in over a month, while the Shenzhen Component rose 0.3% to 15,622, and the offshore yuan [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/USD:CNY#source=url_first_level%3Amarket-news%7Csection%3Aglobal%7Csection_asset%3Afull_story%7Cbutton%3Abody_link] edged lower to around 6.76 per dollar, retreating from a more than three-year high reached in the previous session, as investors weighed mixed PMI data.

ETFs: (NYSEARCA:FXI [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/FXI#source=url_first_level%3Amarket-news%7Csection%3Amarket-pulse%7Csection_asset%3Afull_story%7Cbutton%3Abody_link]), (NYSEARCA:KWEB [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/KWEB#source=url_first_level%3Amarket-news%7Csection%3Amarket-pulse%7Csection_asset%3Afull_story%7Cbutton%3Abody_link]), (NYSEARCA:CQQQ [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/CQQQ#source=url_first_level%3Amarket-news%7Csection%3Amarket-pulse%7Csection_asset%3Afull_story%7Cbutton%3Abody_link]), (NASDAQ:MCHI [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/MCHI#source=url_first_level%3Amarket-news%7Csection%3Amarket-pulse%7Csection_asset%3Afull_story%7Cbutton%3Abody_link]), (NYSEARCA:ASHR [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/ASHR#source=url_first_level%3Amarket-news%7Csection%3Amarket-pulse%7Csection_asset%3Afull_story%7Cbutton%3Abody_link]), (NYSEARCA:YINN [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/YINN#source=url_first_level%3Amarket-news%7Csection%3Amarket-pulse%7Csection_asset%3Afull_story%7Cbutton%3Abody_link]), (NYSE:TDF [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/TDF#source=url_first_level%3Amarket-news%7Csection%3Amarket-pulse%7Csection_asset%3Afull_story%7Cbutton%3Abody_link]), (NYSEARCA:CHIQ [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/CHIQ#source=url_first_level%3Amarket-news%7Csection%3Amarket-pulse%7Csection_asset%3Afull_story%7Cbutton%3Abody_link]), (NYSEARCA:GXC [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/GXC#source=url_first_level%3Amarket-news%7Csection%3Amarket-pulse%7Csection_asset%3Afull_story%7Cbutton%3Abody_link]), (NYSEARCA:EWH [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/EWH#source=url_first_level%3Amarket-news%7Csection%3Amarket-pulse%7Csection_asset%3Afull_story%7Cbutton%3Abody_link]), (NYSEARCA:KBA [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/KBA#source=url_first_level%3Amarket-news%7Csection%3Amarket-pulse%7Csection_asset%3Afull_story%7Cbutton%3Abody_link]), (NYSEARCA:YANG [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/YANG#source=url_first_level%3Amarket-news%7Csection%3Amarket-pulse%7Csection_asset%3Afull_story%7Cbutton%3Abody_link]), (NASDAQ:CXSE [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/CXSE#source=url_first_level%3Amarket-news%7Csection%3Amarket-pulse%7Csection_asset%3Afull_story%7Cbutton%3Abody_link]), (NYSE:CAF [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/CAF#source=url_first_level%3Amarket-news%7Csection%3Amarket-pulse%7Csection_asset%3Afull_story%7Cbutton%3Abody_link]), (NYSEARCA:CWEB [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/CWEB#source=url_first_level%3Amarket-news%7Csection%3Amarket-pulse%7Csection_asset%3Afull_story%7Cbutton%3Abody_link]), (NASDAQ:PGJ [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/PGJ#source=url_first_level%3Amarket-news%7Csection%3Amarket-pulse%7Csection_asset%3Afull_story%7Cbutton%3Abody_link]), (NYSEARCA:KURE [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/KURE#source=url_first_level%3Amarket-news%7Csection%3Amarket-pulse%7Csection_asset%3Afull_story%7Cbutton%3Abody_link]).

Currency: (CNY:USD [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/CNY:USD])

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