Manufacturing activity in China unexpectedly rebounded in May from the previous month, official data showed on Saturday, pointing to a stabilisation in the world's second largest economy. The purchasing managers' index (PMI) grew to 50.8 in May, from 50.6 the month before, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. The PMI is a widely watched indicator of the health of the Chinese economy, with a reading above 50 indicating expansion while anything below that pointing to contraction.

The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday cut its growth forecast for China in 2013 to "around 7.75 percent", down from its earlier forecast of 8.0 percent, citing a sluggish global recovery which hurt exports. "The Chinese economy is expected to grow at around 7.75% this year and at about the same pace next year," David Lipton, IMF first deputy managing director, told reporters in Beijing. China is the world's second-largest economy and seen as a potential driver of global recovery in the face of the eurozone's ongoing debt crisis and unsteady growth elsewhere.

The International Monetary Fund expects China's economy to grow "around 7.75 percent" in 2013, a top fund official said Wednesday, lower than the 8.0 percent the organisation forecast last month. "The Chinese economy is expected to grow at around 7.75% this year and at about the same pace next year," David Lipton, IMF first deputy managing director, told reporters in Beijing, blaming slower export growth for the lower figure.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's industrial profits growth quickened in April from the previous month, though the government noted that the pickup was due mainly to a low comparative base, indicating that the world's second largest economy still faces slack domestic and external demand. Chinese firms made profits of 436.7 billion yuan ($71.22 billion) in April, up 9.3 percent from the same month last year, quickening from a year-on-year growth of 5.3 percent in March, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday.