Slowdown in Chinese manufacturing deepens fears for economy

Factory activity cools for fifth month running as overseas demand for Chinese goods continues to fall

A further slowdown in China's vast manufacturing sector has intensified worries about the year ahead for the world's second largest economy.

The latest in a string of downbeat reports from showed that activity at China's factor ies cooled in December for the fifth month running, as overseas demand for Chinese goods continued to fall.

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