The Chinese Markit/Caixin manufacturing PMI rose to 48.4 in January from 48.2 in December. The increase was driven by a softer drop in new orders.

"Recent macroeconomic indicators show the economy is still in the process of bottoming out and efforts to trim excess capacity are just starting to show results. The pressure on economic growth remains intense in light of continued global volatility. The government needs to watch economic trends closely and proactively make fine adjustments to prevent a hard landing," Dr. He Fan, Chief Economist at Caixin Insight Group, said.