Well-known Chinese news site Sina  reported on May 31, that China’s National Bureau of Statics just released its May Manufacturing PMI (Purchasing Managers Index) number. The PMI index for the Chinese manufacturing sector turned out to be 49.4 percent. The key sub-indexes that brought down the overall number were New Orders (49.8 percent), Raw Material Inventory (47.4 percent) and Employment Level (47.0 percent). These meant that the market demand for manufacturing products is weak and the manufacturers are consuming existing material for production while unemployment is increasing in the sector. Among the different sizes of the companies, large scale manufacturers are doing relatively well (50.03 percent), medium and small scale manufacturers are suffering declines (48.8 percent and 47.8 percent, respectively). PMI is an indicator of financial activity reflecting purchasing managers’ acquisition of goods and services. A PMI number below 50 typically reflects a decline.