China's growing economic malaise, reflected in the latest batch of weak manufacturing data, may trigger a fresh round of stimulus measures from the government as Beijing looks to defend its annual growth target of 7.5 percent, economists tell CNBC.
The China HSBC flash purchasing managers index (PMI) fell to an 11-month low of 47.7 in July from a June final reading of 48.2, as the world's second largest economy continues to reel from deleveraging and tight monetary policy.
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"We do expect some support because now it's quite uncertain how China can achieve 7.5 percent (annual growth), which is the floor, without introducing measures to deal with the situation," Dariusz Kowalczyk, senior economist and strategist, Asia ex-Japan at Credit Agricole.
According to Jian Chang, economist at Barclays, economic support could come in a matter of weeks.
"Combined with the broad-based slowdown in economic activity in June, we expect more announcements from various government bodies in the coming weeks to support growth," Jian Chang, economist at Barclays wrote in a note on Tuesday.
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A factor that could swing the balance in favor of government intervention is the continued weakness in the labor market. The China HSBC PMI employment sub-index came in at 47.3, which is at a 52-month low.
"Employment conditions are more important for the government than output so deterioration here further boosts odds of stimulus," Kowalczyk said.