Chinese manufacturing activity expanded at a record pace in the first quarter of this year in another sign of the country’s strong recovery on the back of rebounding external demand and stronger private consumption.

　　今年第一季度，中國制造業活動出現了創紀錄的擴張，這是表明隨著外部需求回升和私人消費增長，中國經濟出現強勁復蘇的又一信號。

　　While manufacturers in China upped their activity, some Asian countries, including India, South Korea and Australia, saw declines from recent highs.

　　盡管中國制造業活動有所上升，但包括印度、韓國和澳大利亞在內的一些亞洲國家，則從近期的高位有所回落。

　　According to the HSBC/Markit Economics survey released on Thursday, Chinese manufacturing activity – which includes measures such as output and new hires – in the first three months of this year was the fastest since the series began in 2004.

　　周四發布的匯豐(HSBC)和Markit Economics聯合調查結果顯示，今年頭3個月，中國制造業活動——包括產出和新增雇傭人數等指標——增速為2004年開始此項調查以來的最高水平。

　　Lu Ting, China economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, said manufacturers would continue to expand activity even as government stimulus measures wane.

　　美國銀行·美林(Bank of America Merrill Lynch)經濟學家陸挺表示，即便政府刺激措施逐漸撤出，（中國）制造業活動仍將繼續擴張。

　　“Officials in Beijing are just controlling investment to avoid over-heating. The rest of the economy is still strong,” said Mr Lu. “The direction is clear...China is seeing a robust recovery.”

　　“北京的官員們目前只是控制投資以避免經濟過熱。經濟中的其它部分仍相當強勁，”他表示。“方向很清楚……中國正出現強勁復蘇。”

　　Chinese activity rose to 57 in March from 55.8 in February. A reading above 50 signals an expansion, while one below that threshold represents a contraction.

　　中國3月份經濟活動指標(采購經理指數)從2月份的55.8升至57。讀數在50以上意味著經濟出現擴張，而低于50則意味著經濟萎縮。

　　The March rise had been expected because the reading for the previous month was distorted by the Chinese new year when factories close their lines.

　　3月份的數據在人們的意料之中，因為2月份的數據由于中國春節因素受到了扭曲。春節期間很多工廠停產。

　　Chinese manufacturers have boosted their manufacturing as the country’s exports rebound strongly. Chinese exports in February were almost one and half times their level a year ago.

　　由于出口大幅反彈，中國制造商增加了制造業活動。中國2月份出口幾乎是去年同期的1倍半。

　　China also released its official PMI figures on Thursday. The index rose to 55.1 in March from 52 in the previous month, the thirteenth straight month of expansion.

　　周四，中國還發布了官方采購經理指數(PMI)。3月份PMI從2月份的52升至55.1，連續第13個月出現擴張。

　　Qu Hongbin, China chief economist at HSBC, said the robust PMI numbers and export growth suggested that the Chinese economy would grow at an annualised rate of 11 per cent in the first quarter this year.

　　匯豐中國區首席經濟學家屈宏斌表示，強勁的PMI數據及出口增長表明，今年第一季度，中國經濟將以11%的年率化速度增長。

　　“With inflation pressures rapidly accumulating, this increases the risk of interest rate hikes in the coming months, Mr Qu said.

　　“隨著通脹壓力迅速累積，這將加大未來數月加息的可能性，”他表示。

　　Last month, Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, warned about the risk of inflation in China, linking it to the future of the Communist party. Mr Wen said China would maintain “pro-active fiscal policy and moderately easy monetary policy” while implementing “strict controls” over new infrastructure investment.

　　上月，中國總理溫家寶對國內通脹風險提出了警告，將其與共產黨的未來聯系到了一起。溫家寶表示，中國將繼續實行“積極的財政政策和適度寬松的貨幣政策”，同時對新的基礎設施投資加以“嚴格控制”。