BEIJING (Reuters) - China's official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) was 50.1 in February, the government said on Friday, missing market expectations for a reading of 50.2 as overseas demand for Chinese goods remained tepid.
The data, released by the National Bureau of Statistics, showed that new orders - and particularly new export orders - were weaker than January.
The overall index, down from January's 50.4 reading, signals that a mild economic recovery is still taking place in China. The 50-point level separates expanding activity from contraction versus the previous month in China's vast manufacturing sector.
(Reporting by Koh Gui Qing; Editing by Nick Edwards)