China's manufacturing activity maintained solid momentum in June, rounding off the sector's strongest quarter since late 2020, a private survey showed on Wednesday, underlining sustained growth in new orders and a marked easing of cost pressures.

The RatingDog China General Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index — which gauges operating conditions in the sector — came in at 51.7 in June, edging down from 51.8 in May but remaining firmly above the 50-mark that separates expansion from contraction for a seventh consecutive month, the survey showed.

Analysts said the S&P Global-compiled reading, alongside official PMI data released earlier this week, signaled that China's factory activity remained on a firm recovery footing, further underscoring the economy's robust growth momentum.

"The manufacturing sector maintained steady expansion in June," said Yao Yu, founder of RatingDog, citing sustained growth in new orders and a notable easing of cost pressures as key factors behind the solid performance.

The survey showed that new orders received by Chinese manufacturers rose for the 13th consecutive month in June, providing continued support for further production expansion.

Meanwhile, cost pressures showed a marked easing. Although average input prices paid by Chinese manufacturers rose for the 12th consecutive month in June, the pace of increase slowed to its weakest since January, the survey reported.

"The rise in raw material purchase prices narrowed significantly from May, reaching a five-month low and helping rein in months-long inflationary pressure," Yao said.

Notably, the PMI reading averaged 51.9 in the second quarter, pointing to the strongest quarterly performance in China's factory activity since late 2020, according to the private survey.

Wednesday's reading was broadly in line with the official survey released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday, which showed factory activity returning to expansion at 50.3 in June after standing at the boom-bust threshold in May.

New growth drivers also provided strong support.

The PMI for high-tech manufacturing stood at 53.5 in June, compared with 52.9 in May, while the reading for equipment manufacturing reached 52.5, up from 52.1 in May, with both staying firmly in expansion territory, according to the NBS.

Wen Tao, an analyst at the China Logistics Information Center, said the expansion of AI-related industries has continued to inject fresh momentum into manufacturing, with emerging sectors seeing stronger activity on both the supply and demand fronts.

Yan Xiang, a researcher at the research institute of China Chengxin International Credit Rating, voiced a similar view, saying that new growth drivers have continued to gather pace and are playing an increasingly prominent role in supporting the broader economy.

The RatingDog survey also pointed to continued confidence among manufacturers, with enterprises remaining upbeat about the 12-month outlook for output, supported by expectations of stronger new orders, business expansion, new product launches and improved production capacity, even as overall optimism moderated slightly.

Looking ahead, Yao said China's manufacturing PMI is expected to stay in expansionary territory in the near term, although the pace of expansion may become more moderate.

Still, economists said structural divergences within the economy remain a key variable to watch, as high-tech and equipment manufacturing continued to anchor the recovery, while consumer goods and raw material manufacturing showed comparatively softer momentum.

Yan said that demand-side conditions could see further improvement as supportive policies continue to work their way through the economy and the peak summer consumption season gains momentum. Policy support is expected to keep filtering through to the real economy.

The National Development and Reform Commission said recently that China had allocated the third batch of ultra-long special treasury bonds in 2026, worth 62.5 billion yuan ($9.2 billion), to support its consumer goods trade-in programs.

By June 20, the programs had helped generate more than 1 trillion yuan in sales, with every yuan of subsidy leveraging 10.3 yuan in consumer spending, the country's top economic regulator said.

zhangchenxu@chinadaily.com.cn