Smart robots work at a monocrystalline silicon solar cell factory of LONGi Green Energy Technology Co., Ltd. in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, March 25, 2022. [Photo/Xinhua]

China's factory activity moderated in May from a high comparative basis, while services activity remained stable, official data showed Friday.

The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the country's manufacturing sector came in at 49.5 in May, down from 50.4 in April, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

"China's aggregate economic output continues to expand, while enterprises' production and business activities have maintained recovery momentum," said NBS senior statistician Zhao Qinghe.

Zhao attributed the pullback in May's manufacturing PMI to a high comparative basis, which was a result of the rapid expansion of the manufacturing sector in the previous month and a lack of effective demand.

The sub-index for production stood at 50.8, while that for business expectations came in at 54.3, according to the NBS.

Amid the country's efforts to support the manufacturing sector, the industrial sector posted stronger growth momentum in April 2024, with a sharp profit rebound suggesting sustained recovery.

Profits of the country's major industrial enterprises increased 4 percent year on year in April, reversing a 3.5 percent decline registered in the previous month, according to the NBS. In a similar turnaround, revenue growth of such enterprises also recorded a 3.3 percent expansion last month, compared to a 1.2 percent drop in March.

Friday's data also showed the PMI for non-manufacturing sector was 51.1 in May, a notch down from 51.2 in April and above the 50-mark separating expansion from contraction.