Episode Details

Manufacturing rebounds, but smaller enterprises remain under pressure

制造业有所回暖，但中小企业仍面临压力

China's manufacturing activity returned to expansion territory in March, offering an early sign that policy support is beginning to feed through to the real economy as measures to boost demand and stabilize growth gain traction, experts said on Tuesday.

3月，我国制造业活动重返扩张区间。专家3月31日表示，这为观察中国经济提供了一个早期信号，表明随着提振需求、稳定增长的措施逐步显效，政策支持正开始向实体经济传导。

However, they cautioned that prolonged weakness among small and medium-sized enterprises highlights lingering structural pressures and underscores the challenge for policymakers in fostering a more broad-based recovery in the world's second-largest economy.

不过专家也提醒，中小企业持续疲软凸显结构性压力依然存在，也表明政策制定者在推动我国作为世界第二大经济体实现更广泛复苏方面仍面临挑战。

They also said that continued countercyclical policy support, faster rollout of major government investment projects and more targeted measures to ease financing burdens on small and medium-sized enterprises will be key to boosting orders, reviving production and underpinning a solid start to the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period.

专家还表示，持续加强逆周期调节政策支持、加快重大政府投资项目落地、出台更有针对性的措施缓解中小企业融资压力，对于扩大订单、恢复生产、支撑"十五五"时期（2026-2030年）实现良好开局至关重要。

Their comments came as China's official purchasing managers' index for the manufacturing sector stood at 50.4 in March, up from 49.0 in February and returning to expansion territory, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday. The subindex for production stood at 51.4 in March, up from 49.6 in February, while the gauge for new orders came in at 51.6, up 3 percentage points from the previous month, the NBS said.

国家统计局3月31日发布的数据显示，3月份，我国制造业采购经理指数（PMI）为50.4%，比上月上升1.5个百分点，重返扩张区间。国家统计局表示，生产指数为51.4%，比上月上升1.8个百分点；新订单指数为51.6%，比上月上升3.0个百分点。

Huo Lihui, an NBS statistician, attributed the rebound in manufacturing PMI to the faster resumption of work and production after the Spring Festival holiday, as well as increased market activity, with the production index and the new orders index both returning to expansion territory.

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