China Factory Activity Unexpectedly Expands, but Economy Cannot Shake Off Virus Shock

Workers are producing thermometers at a factory in Shandong Province, China, on Feb. 10, 2020. STR/AFP via Getty Images

BEIJING—Factory activity in China unexpectedly expanded in March from a collapse the month before, but analysts caution that a durable near-term recovery is far from assured as the global coronavirus crisis knocks foreign demand and threatens a steep economic slump.

China’s official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 52 in March from a plunge to a record low of 35.7 in February, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on March 31, above the 50-point mark that separates monthly growth from contraction.