South China’s Guangdong Province and East China’s Jiangsu Province, which are among China’s top five provinces and cities in terms of export value, saw slight signs of recovery as the decline in their export value narrowed by 1.4 and 0.8 percentage points in the January to May period compared with the first four months this year.

According to figures released by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the country’s top economic planner, Guangdong and Jiangsu recorded exports worth $209.4 billion and $140.7 billion respectively in the first five months this year.

The amounts, though still down by 12.9 percent and 8.6 percent respectively compared with the same time last year, saw signs of a pick up compared with the January to April period this year.

The cheering signs came as China's factory activity also expanded at a stronger pace in June after the government lifted lockdowns and the pandemic situation saw signs of easing in the country.

China’s official manufacturing PMI for June beat expectations and came in at 50.9, according to data released by the country’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Tuesday.

NDRC data also showed that Guangdong and Shanghai, which are among China’s top five provinces and cities in terms of import value, imported products worth $144.4 billion and $109.5 billion in the first five months, down by 10 percent and 7.6 percent year-on-year respectively.