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，中国制造业活动出现了创纪录的扩张，这是表明随着外部需求回升和私人消费增长，中国经济出现强劲复苏的又一信号。

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

　　尽管中国制造业活动有所上升，但包括印度、韩国和澳大利亚在内的一些亚洲国家，则从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.

　　周四发布的汇丰(HSBC)和Markit Economics联合调查结果显示，今年头3个月，中国制造业活动——包括产出和新增雇佣人数等指标——增速为2004年开始此项调查以来的最高水平。

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

　　美国银行·美林(Bank of America Merrill Lynch)经济学家陆挺表示，即便政府刺激措施逐渐撤出，（中国）制造业活动仍将继续扩张。

　　“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.”

　　“北京的官员们目前只是控制投资以避免经济过热。经济中的其它部分仍相当强劲，”他表示。“方向很清楚……中国正出现强劲复苏。”

　　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.

　　中国3月份经济活动指标(采购经理指数)从2月份的55.8升至57。读数在50以上意味着经济出现扩张，而低于50则意味着经济萎缩。

　　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月份的数据在人们的意料之中，因为2月份的数据由于中国春节因素受到了扭曲。春节期间很多工厂停产。

　　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.

　　由于出口大幅反弹，中国制造商增加了制造业活动。中国2月份出口几乎是去年同期的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，中国还发布了官方采购经理指数(PMI)。3月份PMI从2月份的52升至55.1，连续第13个月出现扩张。

　　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.

　　汇丰中国区首席经济学家屈宏斌表示，强劲的PMI数据及出口增长表明，今年第一季度，中国经济将以11%的年率化速度增长。

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

　　“随着通胀压力迅速累积，这将加大未来数月加息的可能性，”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，中国总理温家宝对国内通胀风险提出了警告，将其与共产党的未来联系到了一起。温家宝表示，中国将继续实行“积极的财政政策和适度宽松的货币政策”，同时对新的基础设施投资加以“严格控制”。