China's manufacturing fell to an eight-month low in March in another sign of slowing growth in the world's No. 2 economy, AP reported. Released Monday, the preliminary version of HSBC's purchasing managers' index fell to 48.1 from February's 48.5. The closely watched index of activity in China's immense manufacturing industry uses a 100-point scale on which readings above 50 indicate expansion. Factory output shrank at the fastest pace in 18 months while new orders and work backlogs increased at faster rates. The latest report "suggests China's growth momentum continued to slow down," said HSBC chief China economist Qu Hongbin. "Weakness is broadly-based with domestic demand softening further." The survey found, however, that new orders from overseas export customers rose, further highlighting weakness in China's domestic economy. After a decade of blistering expansion, China's economy has been slowing as the government tries to reduce reliance on investment and encourage growth based on domestic consumption. Last year, China's economic growth fell to a two-decade low of 7.7 percent, barely half of 2007's explosive 14.2 percent pace. The country's communist leaders have set a target of 7.5 percent growth for this year.
