China's official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector picked up slightly to 50.3 in July from 50.1 in June, signaling a stabilizing trend in the country's economy.

Zhao Qinghe, a senior economist with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), said it was the 10th consecutive month that the PMI has hovered around 50.5 since October 2012. A reading below 50 indicates a contraction of activity. Most sub-indices also increased from a month earlier.

Zhang attributed the rise in confidence to a series of "mini-stimulus" measures adopted since early July, which include tax breaks for micro-sized businesses and accelerated spending on subsidized housing, urban infrastructure, high-speed rail and energy-saving industries.

The non-manufacturing PMI stood at 54.1 percent in July, up from 53.9 percent for June, according to the NBS. The PMI for China's non-manufacturing sector rebounded after falling for three consecutive months.