The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's manufacturing sector came in at 51.9 in May, up from 51.4 in April, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Thursday.

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

The May figure was also higher than the 51.2 for the same period last year, and reached its highest point since October last year, the NBS said in a statement on its website.

"The manufacturing sector expanded at a faster pace, with growth momentum further strengthened," said NBS senior statistician Zhao Qinghe.

Both production and demand saw steady expansion as the sub-index for production and the new order sub-index rose to 54.1 and 53.8, respectively, according to Zhao.

 The NBS data also showed that the non-manufacturing PMI edged up from 54.8 in April to 54.9 this month, and the composite PMI output index rose from 54.1 in April to 54.6 this month.