BEIJING, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- China's manufacturing sector returned to the expansion zone in October after five consecutive months of contraction, official data showed Thursday.

The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's manufacturing sector came in at 50.1 in October, up from 49.8 in September and surpassing the boom-or-bust line of 50 for the first time since May, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in a statement.

Commenting on the data, NBS statistician Zhao Qinghe said China's economic sentiment continued to improve in October as a new package of incremental policies were rolled out and existing policies also gradually took effect. ■