The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's manufacturing sector came in at 50.2 in February, up from 50.1 in January, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Tuesday.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below reflects contraction.

"With rising demand and sound market expectations, business performance improved in February," said NBS senior statistician Zhao Qinghe.

In February, the sub-index measuring purchase prices of major raw materials rose 3.6 percentage points to 60. The sub-index for prices at the factory gate was 54.1, up 3.2 percentage points from January.

The sub-index for production reached 50.4, down 0.5 percentage points from a month ago but has remained in the expansion area for four consecutive months.

Tuesday's data also showed that the PMI for China's non-manufacturing sector came in at 51.6 in February, up from 51.1 in January.