(Yicai Global) Sept. 2 -- China's manufacturing sector recovered last month, unexpectedly logging the highest reading since April in a survey that reaches out to small and privately owned firms.

The Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers' index climbed to 50.4 in August from 49.9 in July. That was 0.5 percentage point higher than excepted. A reading above 50 signals expansion.

But the short-term recovery has not changed the long-term downward pressure, Zhong Zhengsheng, Caixin's chief economist, said in a statement that accompanied the release of the survey's results. Production and employment showed signs of improvement but exports contracted significantly.  

The official PMI recorded 49.5 in August, sliding 0.2 point from the previous month, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. The official PMI surveyed 3,000 mostly large and state-owned companies.

Editor: Emmi Laine