(Yicai Global) May 6 -- The Caixin China Composite Purchasing Managers' Index set by Beijing-based private financial media Caixin Media slid by 0.2 of a point to 52.7 on manufacturing defects but stayed in the expansion range. 

The previous three months' reading 52.9 was the highest recorded in the last nine months. 

A reading above 50 signals expansion; one below shows contraction.

The service sector delivered the most economic growth. The Caixin Chinese Service Business Activity Index rose by 0.1 point to 54.5, hitting its second-highest point since May 2012, following its apex in January last year. The Caixin Manufacturing PMI slid 0.6 percentage points to 50.2 for last month.

The new export service business has achieved its biggest growth since Caixin began surveying the sector in 2014. Major market demand became strong, several companies told Caixin. Companies put greater efforts into securing overseas clients, but new overseas orders shrank slightly in manufacturing nonetheless.

Employment in the two sectors also showed the same pattern, with that in the service sector rising slightly to hit a 10-month high last month, while that of industry dropped slightly after its first March growth in five years.

China's economy showed considerable resilience last month, said Zhong Zhengsheng, director of CEBM of Caixin data and intelligence arm Caixin Insight Group. 

The service sector remained promising, but the pressure of rising costs was strong, and this will hit profitability, Zhong added, suggesting market players must be patient with the Chinese economy and for Beijing to appropriately apply counter-cyclical regulation and issue new structural and institutional policies.

Editor: Ben Armour