Hot on the heels of the official numbers, a private PMI survey series also reports that March was a better month for Chinese manufacturers.

紧随官方数据发布的一项民间采购经理指数(PMI)调查结果也显示，3月份中国制造业状况有所改善。

The Caixin/Markit manufacturing purchasing managers index came in at 49.7 in March, ahead of the 48.3 economists were expecting. It had been 48 in February.

3月份，财新/Markit制造业PMI为49.7，比经济学家预期的48.3要高，2月份的读数则为48。

It was last above 50 – the point which separates expansion from contraction – in February last year.

该指数上次在50这一荣枯线以上还是在去年2月份。

“Despite remaining below the crucial no-change 50.0 value, it was the highest index reading in 13 months and signalled only a fractional deterioration in the health of the sector,” Caixin said in its accompanying statement.

财新在同时发布的一份声明中表示：“虽然仍低于50.0临界值，但已是13个月来最高纪录，显示制造业运行只是轻微放缓。”

Less than an hour ago the official survey was released, reporting a reading of 50.2 – the first above 50 in eight months.

3月份中国官方制造业PMI为50.2，这是9个月来首次高于50。

He Fan, chief economist at Caixin Insight Group added:“All categories of the index showed improvement over the previous month. The output and new order categories rose above the neutral 50-point level, indicating that the stimulus policies the government has implemented have begun to take hold.

财新智库(Caixin Insight Group)首席经济学家何帆表示：“所有分项均较上月有所改善，产出、新订单两个分项指标向上突破50荣枯线水平，表明前期的刺激政策效果在逐渐发挥。

“However, considering that current conditions remain uncertain, the government needs to continue with moderate stimulus measures to reinforce market confidence.”

鉴于当前中国的复苏态势仍不明朗，政府继续保持适度的刺激政策，引领市场信心。”

The Caixin-sponsored series is based on a much smaller sample of private companies and tends to be more volatile than the official reading. The official survey focuses on larger state enterprises.

这个由财新赞助的系列调查，其调查对象是民营企业，样本比官方调查要小得多，其波动性往往大于聚焦大中型国有企业的官方PMI读数。