China's manufacturing activity slows in December in sign the economy is struggling

abcnews.go.com:

A survey of factory managers in China shows manufacturing contracted in December in the latest sign the world's second-largest economy remains sluggish

BANGKOK — A survey of factory managers in China shows manufacturing contracted in December in the latest sign the world’s second-largest economy remains sluggish.

The official purchasing managers index, or PMI, fell to 49 last month in what officials said was evidence of weak demand, the National Bureau of Statistics reported on Sunday. It was the third straight month of contraction. The PMI is on a scale up to 100 where 50 marks the cutoff between expansion and contraction.

The index has fallen in eight of the past nine months, with an increase only in September. In November, the index was at 49.4, down from 49.5 the month before.

Despite unexpectedly prolonged weakness after the pandemic, China’s economy grew at a 5.2% pace in the first three quarters of the year and showed signs of improvement in November, with factory output and retail sales rising.

In recent months, the government has raised spending on construction of ports and other infrastructure, cut interest rates and eased curbs on home-buying to try to stimulate the domestic demand that economists say is needed to sustain growth.

In his New Year speech, leader Xi Jinping said China had achieved a “smooth transition” from the country's response to the pandemic, which at times involved the shut downs of factories and parts of or entire cities.

China's economy has become “more resilient and dynamic than before,” Xi said in remarks carried by the official Xinhua News Agency.

Global demand for manufactured goods has suffered as central banks around the world have raised interest rates to battle decades-high