China factory activity contracts for 5th month

Beijing

ACTIVITY in China's manufacturing sector contracted for a fifth straight month in December, an official survey showed on Friday, reinforcing fears that the world's second-largest economy may be stuck in a protracted slowdown despite a flurry of stimulus measures.

While China's services sector ended 2015 on a strong note, the economy still looked set to grow at its slowest pace in a quarter of a century, suggesting the government will have to step up support in 2016 to revive activity.