China's manufacturing PMI up in February

The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's manufacturing sector came in at 50.2 in February, up from 50.1 in January, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Tuesday.

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

"With rising demand and sound market expectations, business performance improved in February," said NBS senior statistician Zhao Qinghe.

In February, the sub-index measuring purchase prices of major raw materials rose 3.6 percentage points to 60. The sub-index for prices at the factory gate was 54.1, up 3.2 percentage points from January.

The sub-index for production reached 50.4, down 0.5 percentage points from a month ago but has remained in the expansion area for four consecutive months.

Tuesday's data also showed that the PMI for China's non-manufacturing sector came in at 51.6 in February, up from 51.1 in January.