The purchasing managers index for manufacturing in China rose to 51.8 points last month from 51.6 points the month before, Xinhua reports.

The Chinese government-run news agency, citing the National Bureau of Statistics, says the March reading was the highest since April 2012, and higher than expected.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion.

The report quotes a statistician of the bureau, Zhao Qinghe, as saying the main sub-indexes of the manufacturing PMI all indicated recovery, suggesting the Chinese economy is gaining momentum.

China’s non-manufacturing PMI rose to 55.1 points last month, Xinhua says.