Chinese factory activity in March shrank from February: it has been weighed down by new rounds of outbreaks of COVID-19 and an uncertainty brought by geopolitical conflicts, according to Zhao Qinghe, a senior statistician from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). 

The official manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) dropped to 49.5 from last month's 50.2, data from NBS showed on Thursday.

The official PMI missed Reuters' forecast of 49.8. A reading above 50 indicates an expansion, while a reading below reflects a contraction in activities.

In addition, the official non-manufacturing PMI, which measures activities in the construction and services sectors, also slid into contraction territory at 48.4, decreasing by 3.2 percentage points from February, according to the same data.

The official composite PMI, which includes both manufacturing and services activities, stood at 48.8, dropping 2.4 percentage points from last month.