Manufacturing activity in China rose in February after a decline in the previous month, official data show.

The world's second-largest economy faces sluggish domestic demand and a prolonged crisis in the real estate sector, as well as the possibility of a deepening trade war with the United States under President Donald Trump.

The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) - a key gauge of industrial production - reached 50.2 points in February, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), above the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction.

The February reading was higher than 49.1 in January, when factory activity contracted for the first time in four months.

Output in February was boosted by "the gradual resumption of work by enterprises after the Chinese New Year," said NBS statistician Zhao Qinghe.

The non-manufacturing PMI, which measures activity in the service sector, reached 50.4 points in February.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has admitted that the country's economy is facing "numerous difficulties". | BGNES, AFP