A survey focused on small and mid-size businesses in China beat expectations on Monday, reaching a four-month high.
The Caixin/Markit manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index for December came in at 51.5. Economists expected the private Caixin/Markit PMI to come in at 50.6 in December versus 50.8 in November.
A reading above 50 indicates expansion, anything below signals contraction.
The Caixin/Markit survey focuses on small and mid-size businesses in China and comes after the world's second-largest economy reported official manufacturing PMI over the weekend.
On Sunday, China reported official manufacturing PMI, as expected, at 51.6 in December — a dip from 51.8 in November.
Despite concerns about debt and a property bubble, China's economic data showed robust growth in 2017 due to government spending on infrastructure and a pick up in the overall global macroeconomic environment.
While manufacturing is an important part of the Chinese economy, it is "not everything" as consumption is strengthening, said Hao Zhou, senior emerging market economist at Commerzbank.
Caixin/Markit is set to release China's services PMI reading on Thursday.
