Growth in China's manufacturing sector remained moderate in November, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) on December 1.

The official manufacturing purchasing manager's index (PMI) slipped to 50.3 in November from 50.8 in October but remained above the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis.

Although the November PMI fell slightly, it remained above the boom-bust line, suggesting the manufacturing sector was generally expanding, NBS analyst Zhao Qinghe said.

The breakdown of the official PMI showed that downward pressure on domestic demand was increasing while external demand was decelerating, said Bob Liu, analyst at the China International Capital Corp.

According to Liu, temporary factory shutdowns imposed in Beijing and neighboring regions in early November to ensure cleaner air during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders' Meeting may have helped to aggravate the slowdown in that month.

Among the sub-indices, the production index posted at 52.5, down from October's 53.1. The index of new orders slipped from October's 51.6 to 50.9 while that of new export orders fell to 48.4 in November from 49.9 in the previous month. The employment sub-index declined from 48.4 in October to 48.2.

On the other side of the equation, China's service sector activity slightly recovered in November. The PMI for the non-manufacturing sector rebounded to 53.9 in November from 53.8 in October, according to the NBS and the CFLP.