BEIJING — China's factory activity gauge edged up in Aug, buoyed by continued expansion in equipment and high-tech manufacturing, but remained below the 50-point mark that separates contraction from expansion, official data showed on Monday.

The official purchasing managers index for the manufacturing sector picked up to 49.8 in Aug from 49.2 in July, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics. The figure remained in contraction territory for a second consecutive month.

Despite the overall contraction, Huo Lihui, an NBS statistician, said the business climate in the manufacturing sector improved markedly, with 16 of the 21 industries surveyed registering higher PMI readings than a month earlier.

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The sub-indexes for production and new orders both returned to expansion territory in Aug, rising to 50.4 and 50.6, respectively, from 49.9 and 48.5 in July, the NBS reported.

New growth drivers also maintained solid momentum, providing further support to the improvement. The PMI for high-tech manufacturing stood at 52.9 in Aug, while the reading for equipment manufacturing came in at 51.4, with both staying firmly in expansion territory, according to the NBS.

"Both sectors continued to post solid growth, reflecting further progress in industrial upgrading," Huo said.

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Meanwhile, China's non-manufacturing PMI, which tracks the services and construction sectors, came in at 49.0 in Aug, unchanged from July, while the business activity index for the services sector stood at 49.3, the same as in July.

The country's official composite PMI, which tracks overall output in both the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors, edged up to 49.5 in Aug from 49.3 in July, NBS data showed.