China's factory activity expanded in November, driven by rising orders, a private survey showed on Friday. 

The Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose to the expansion territory of 50.7 in November from 49.5 in October, marking the strongest growth in factory activity since August.

"Demand continued to grow, as the gauge for new orders remained in the expansionary territory," said Wang Zhe, a senior economist at Caixin Insight Group.

According to Caixin, China's factory output returned to the expansion zone in November. The subindex of new orders rose to the highest level since July.

Caixin said that manufacturers' sentiment improved and the reading for expectations for future output hit a four-month high in November.

"Considering that economic growth in the third quarter slightly exceeded expectations and the base number for the fourth-quarter year-on-year growth is low, achieving the target of around 5 percent for the whole year looks attainable," said Wang.

Looking to the future, he expects the country to lay a solid foundation for long-term economic growth and cultivate long-term confidence of market entities.

(Cover via CFP)