China will kick off the new year with a set of data about its economy as Caixin and IHS Markit releases its manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for December on Monday at 9:45 a.m. SIN/HK.

Economists polled by Reuters expected the private Caixin/Markit PMI to come in at 50.6 in December versus 50.8 the previous month.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below that signals contraction.

The Caixin/Markit survey focuses on small and mid-size businesses in China and comes after the world’s second-largest economy reported official manufacturing PMI over the weekend.

On Sunday, China reported official PMI, as expected, at 51.6 in December — a dip from 51.8 in November, Reuters reported.

Despite concerns about debt and a property bubble, China’s economic data showed robust growth in 2017 due to government spending on infrastructure and a pick up in the overall global macroeconomic environment.

One key risk the Chinese economy will face this year is U.S. trade protectionism as President Donald Trump continues to signal displeasure over the yawning trade gap between the two countries, said Sian Fenner, senior economist at Oxford Economics.

Source: cnbc china
Important Chinese manufacturing data is incoming — here's what economists expect