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Textile factory in China
Photo: imago stock / imago images/VCG
Chinese economic activity unexpectedly returned to growth in January.
The official manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to 50.1 points from 47 points in December, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Tuesday.
The data is a first snapshot of the situation after the end of the strict corona policy and the Chinese New Year, which ended on Friday.
In a Reuters poll, analysts had expected a PMI reading of 48.
This puts the barometer just above the 50 mark, which indicates that business is picking up.
Non-manufacturing, which includes services, construction and hospitality, among others, rose to 54.4 points from December's 41.6 points.
The expected wave of infections after the restrictions were lifted moved through the country faster than expected and boosted consumption around the celebrations: it was 12.2 percent higher at the New Year festival than in the previous year.
Holiday travel within China also rose 74 percent as people were able to travel without restrictions during the holiday for the first time since the pandemic began.
kig/Reuters