China’s October Factory PMI: Large Manufacturers Stay in Expansion at 50.2%

The headline number masks a widening split: large manufacturers remain in expansion while medium and small firms sit deeper in contraction, so the aggregate reading understates pressure on the smaller end of the industrial base. That divergence matters for supply chains and credit conditions, since weaker mid-sized and small producers are typically more sensitive to demand and financing shifts. Whether the gap between large and smaller enterprises narrows or widens from here is the open question.