An employee at a company manufacturing lithium batteries in Huaibei, in eastern China’s Anhui province. — AFP
BEIJING: China's factory activity deteriorated in July, as a softening of new business growth led manufacturers to scale back production, a private-sector survey showed on Friday.
The S&P Global China General Manufacturing PMI fell to 49.5 in July from 50.4 in June, undershooting analysts' expectations of 50.4 in a Reuters poll. The 50-mark separates growth from contraction.
