China Factory Activity Hits Lowest Since 2022, Survey Shows

An employee works on a tractor assembly line at a factory in Qingzhou, in eastern China's Shandong province on May 27, 2025. AFP

Chinese factory activity hit a more than two-year low in May, a closely watched survey showed Tuesday, as a detente in Beijing’s trade war with Washington was offset by ongoing domestic problems in the world’s number two economy.

China and the United States agreed last month to temporarily halt most tit-for-tat tariffs on each other’s goods, providing some much-needed relief to global markets.

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