Manufacturing produces small increase in April

Manufacturing growth experienced a small increase in April while new export orders fell sharply, official data showed on Thursday.

The world's second-largest economy still faces heavy downward pressure, although second-quarter growth is showing signs of recovery, analysts warned.

The purchasing managers index for the manufacturing sector rose to 50.4 in April, indicating a slight expansion, according to the National Bureau of Statistics and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing.