China's manufacturing remained unchanged in December, indicating the country's economy may be on the slow recovery path, an industry group said Tuesday.

The Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) of China's non-manufacturing sector came in at 50.6 percent in December, steady from 50.6 percent a month earlier, according to the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP).

The index measures the economic health of a country's manufacturing sector. A reading of 50 or above represents an expansion of the sector compared to the previous month. A reading lower than 50 represents a contraction, while a reading of 50 indicates no change.

The latest figure was comparable to British bank HSBC's survey that showed China's manufacturing hit a 19-month high in December.

The bank's final figure for China's PMI came at 51.5 percent in December, compared to 50.5 percent for the month before, the bank said on Monday.

Compared to China's official PMI figure that is focused on big, state-owned firms, HSBC's PMI is based on surveys of smaller, private firms.

The official figure suggests the world's No. 2 economy may be on track to recover from the global economic downturn but on a slow pace.

China's economic growth decelerated in the third quarter of this year due to the eurozone debt crisis and other global uncertainties.

In the July-September period, China's gross domestic product

(GDP) grew 7.4 percent on-year, slowing from a 9.1 percent increase during the same period a year earlier.

The third quarter figure was also comparable to 7.6 percent in the second quarter and 8.1 percent in the first quarter. (Yonhap News)