China
China is the world's biggest manufacturer and exporter. Its official factory survey (PMI) and monthly export figures are two of the most-watched numbers in the world economy.
Latest monthly exports (fresher reading)
0.4bn US$
+20.5% vs a year earlier
as of May 2026
OECD compilation of official data, ~2-month lag — the long-history chart below runs on a slower mirror.
Official factory activity (NBS Manufacturing PMI)
A monthly survey of Chinese factory managers — above 50 means factories are getting busier, below 50 means they're slowing down.
Official NBS survey (never the private Caixin/S&P survey, which is licensed data). The 50 line is the boundary between growth and contraction.
- Newest data point:
- February 2026
- Last checked:
- 6 September 2026
- Updates:
- monthly
- Confidence:
- medium
Monthly exports
The total value of everything China sold abroad that month — because China ships so much of the world's manufactured goods, a drop here is an early sign world trade is cooling.
Via IMF Direction of Trade Statistics (DBnomics mirror) — this mirror runs roughly a year behind the present, so recent months may not appear yet. Values converted from million US$ to billion US$ for readability.
- Newest data point:
- May 2025
- Last checked:
- 6 September 2026
- Updates:
- monthly
- Confidence:
- medium
Reminder: a weak month can have many causes — currency moves, holidays, one-off factory shutdowns. Changes here are correlated with global supply conditions, but correlation is not causation.
Common questions
What is China's Manufacturing PMI?
The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) is a monthly survey of factory managers — a reading above 50 means factories report growing activity, below 50 means contracting. This site uses only China's official NBS survey, never the privately licensed Caixin/S&P survey.
Why do China's exports matter for the rest of the world?
China ships more manufactured goods than any other country, so a sustained drop in its exports is an early sign that global trade — and the factories and jobs that depend on it — may be cooling.