CHINA'S manufacturing activity in private and export-oriented firms grew at a slower pace in April as state-owned enterprises, indicating a weaker-than-expected recovery in the world's second-largest economy.

The HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index, which measures operating conditions in largely private companies, slid to 50.4 last month from March's 51.6, HSBC Holdings Plc said this morning.

A reading above 50 means expansion.

The bank said the latest index signaled a slight improvement in the manufacturing sector.

The official Purchasing Managers' Index, released yesterday by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, fell to 50.6 in April from 50.9 a month earlier.

Qu Hongbin, chief economist for China at HSBC, said April's slower growth confirmed that China's economic recovery remains fragile.

"External demand deteriorated and renewed destocking pressures built up," Qu said. "The looming deflationary pressures also suggest softer overall demand conditions."

Qu predicted that all this is likely to weigh on the labor market, which may invite more policy responses in the coming months.

The component indices showed both output and new orders expanded at weaker rates, while new export orders contracted for the first time this year.

China's gross domestic product expanded 7.7 percent in the first three months, slowing from 7.9 percent in the final quarter of 2012.

The weaker-than-expected economic growth has triggered calls for tightening policies to be lifted, especially when inflation eased to 2.1 percent in March from February's 10-month high of 3.2 percent.