The manufacturing purchasing manager's index (PMI), a key measure of factory activity in China, posted at 50.3 in November, down 0.5 percentage point from October, according to the data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below 50 represents contraction.

Although the index waned slightly, it remained above the boom-bust line, suggesting the manufacturing sector was generally expanding, NBS analyst Zhao Qinghe said.

Among the sub-indices of the PMI, the production index posted at 52.5, down 0.6 percentage point from October.

The index of new orders slipped by 0.7 percentage point to 50.9 and employment index lost 0.2 percentage point to 48.2.

China's economy grew at its slowest pace since the depths of the global financial crisis in the third quarter and is likely to register its weakest annual growth rate in more than 10 years.