The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's manufacturing sector stood at 50.1 in December, up 0.9 percentage points month on month, official data showed on Wednesday.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below 50 reflects contraction.

The PMI for large enterprises came in at 50.8, an increase of 1.5 percentage points, while the reading for medium-sized enterprises stood at 49.8, up 0.9 percentage points.

The PMI for small enterprises stood at 48.6, down 0.5 percentage points, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

On the demand side, the sub-index for new orders came in at 50.8, up 1.6 percentage points.

The supplier delivery time index was 50.2 percent, an increase of 0.1 percentage points, indicating that the delivery time of raw material suppliers in the manufacturing industry continued to decrease.

NBS data also showed that the PMI for China's non-manufacturing sector came in at 50.2 in December, up 0.7 percentage points, returning to expansion territory. (Xinhua)