A very slight increase of 0.10 to China's Purchasing manager's Index (PMI) from February to March is seen as a positive indicator on attaining the projected annual growth target of 7.5% for this year.

The proudly optimistic assessment was based on the latest reading from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) at the end of March.

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The report for March indicated that all sub-indices of the PMI is on the uptrend after a disappointing below-par performance in the last three months.

The PMI registered a 50.3 in March from 50.2 in February indicating an improved performance in the export sector.

Based on Chinese standards, points higher than 50 show the manufacturing sector is performing at profitable margins. Anything below the 50 mark indicates a possible contraction of the Chinese economy.

However, the PMI only monitors the monthly performance for the state-owned production facilities and not the private sector. The figures do not entirely show the health of the manufacturing industry.

The overall prospects for China to achieve a GDP target of 7.5% is still dependent on other indicators.

The NBS reported that investments for fixed-asset dropped by 17.9%, the lowest since December 2002.

The employment sub-index went up by 48.3 in March from 48.2 in February, but is still below the acceptable level of 50.