China’s factory activity flatlines in May casting doubt over the economy

China’s vast factory sector lost momentum last month, according to official figures published on Sunday, renewing questions about how long the world’s second-largest economy can withstand a deepening global energy crisis and stubborn problems with demand at home. The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI), released jointly by China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, fell to exactly 50 in May, down 0.3 points from April and marking the index’s lowest reading since February. On a scale of 0 to 100, the figure sits precisely at the threshold separating expansion from contraction, a…