Manufacturing activity in China continued to expand in April, though at a slower pace, with a private survey Tuesday showing that an index for the sector had declined from the previous month.

The Caixin China General Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) stood at 50.3 last month, down from 51.2 in March, according to the survey conducted by financial information service provider Markit and sponsored by Caixin Media Co. Ltd.

Caixin attributed the weak expansion to the fact that new orders had increased at the slowest pace since September 2016. Production growth softened for the second month in a row and rose only marginally overall.

The softer growth of new orders was also in line with a slowing expansion in new export work due to relatively muted consumer demand abroad, according to the data.

Meanwhile, payroll cuts were reported at their fastest since January 2017, signalling a reduction of employees in the manufacturing sector in April, the Caixin data showed.

The data also indicated an ease of cost pressure, with the rate of input price inflation falling to a seven-month low.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a number below 50 points to contraction.

Official manufacturing PMI came in at 51.2 in April, expanding for the ninth-straight month, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.