BSS/AFP) - China`s factory output ticked up in August but still recorded a fifth straight month of contraction, official data showed on Sunday, as trade talks with the United States continue ahead of a new November tariff deadline.

The Purchasing Managers` Index -- a key measure of industrial output -- was 49.4, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said, up slightly from 49.3 in July.

A Bloomberg analysts` poll had forecasted the index would be 49.5.

The last time China recorded a figure above 50 -- indicating growth -- was in March.

NBS statistician Zhao Qinghe hailed the improvement from a month earlier as evidence that "overall economic prosperity continues to expand".

"The business climate has improved," he said.

In July, the NBS attributed manufacturing`s struggles to severe weather, including floods and high temperatures.

China has struggled to maintain a strong economic recovery since the pandemic, as it fights a debt crisis in the crucial property sector, chronically low consumption and elevated youth unemployment.

China`s bruising trade war with the United States -- now on hold pending a deal -- has hit the export-dependent economy.

Beijing and Washington have extended a truce on most reciprocal duties to November 10 as they continue talks.

Senior Chinese trade negotiator Li Chenggang urged "equal dialogue and consultation" between the two nations when he concluded a three-day visit to the United States on Friday, according to a statement from China`s commerce ministry.