China's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector hit a one-year high of 50.8% in March, up from 49.1 a month earlier, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.

The figure returned above the 50 mark that separates expansion from contraction, after sitting below it for five consecutive months. The rebound reflected signs of acceleration in economic growth and benign sentiment among factory owners, backed by persistently excellent performance in high-tech manufacturing, especially in the area of electric vehicles,   

In breakdown by enterprise scale, the PMI for large-sized firms stood at 51.1, and that for medium- and small-sized reached 50.6 and 50.3, respectively, in March, all in the expansion zone.

In March, market vitality improved as companies expedited operations after the Chinese New Year holiday, said Zhao Qinghe, senior statistician at the NBS.

The expansion was mirrored in improved demand, with the sub-index for new export orders soaring to 51.3 from 46.3 a month earlier, and that for new orders up 4.0 percentage points to 53.0.

Meanwhile, supply also improved, evidenced by a 2.4-percentage-point rise in the sub-index of supply, hitting 52.2.

"The largest driver behind the rise in March's PMI is the significant turnaround in the market demand," said Wang Qing, an analyst at Golden Credit Rating. "Affected by the periodical effect, overseas demand has also improved."

The non-manufacturing PMI rose to 53.0%, marking a 1.6-percentage-point increase from February, suggesting continued expansion in the construction sector, with its PMI at 56.2, and in the service sector, at 52.4.

(Writing by Alex Guo  Editing by Harry Huo)
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