BEIJING, Oct. 31 -- The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's manufacturing sector stood at 49 in October 2025, down 0.8 percentage points from the previous month, official data revealed on Friday.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below 50 reflects contraction.

"In October, manufacturing production activities slowed compared to the previous month, affected by both the early release of some demand ahead of the National Day holiday and an increasingly complex international environment," said Huo Lihui, a chief statistician with the National Bureau of Statistics.

The National Day holiday this year coincided with the Mid-Autumn Festival, extending the vacation period from Oct. 1 through Oct. 8.

The sub-index for production stood at 49.7, down 2.2 percentage points from September -- indicating a slowdown in manufacturing production.

On the demand side, the sub-index for new orders came in at 48.8 in October, down 0.9 percentage points from the month before.

The sub-index for supplier delivery time stood at 50 percent, a drop of 0.8 percentage points from the previous month -- which showed that the delivery time for suppliers of raw materials in the manufacturing industry was basically unchanged from a month earlier.