The figures released by Caixin researchers on Friday show parallels with official purchasing managers (PMI) figures a day earlier. This showed the largest contraction in activity since October last year.
PMI numbers are an important gauge of activity in the country’s factories. The Caixin survey, which covers small and medium-sized enterprises, is said to better reflect the economic situation in China compared to official government figures. The latter more accurately reflect the situation of the large state-owned companies.
According to the latest figures, both domestic and export orders fell at the fastest rate since February 2020. In that month, China was hit for the first time on a larger scale by the coronavirus outbreak, the survey found. There was less demand for consumer goods in particular. Furthermore, the war in Ukraine is bothering the manufacturers. This also reduces exports and also causes a blockage of international transport connections.