China manufacturing slows in April as recovery falters "New export orders contracted after a temporary rebound in March, suggesting external demand for China's exporters remains weak," Qu Hongbin, a Hong Kong-based economist with HSBC, said in a release. Weaker overall demand has also started to weigh on employment in the manufacturing sector, Beijing is expected to respond strongly to sustain the economic recovery by increasing efforts to boost domestic investment and consumption in the coming months. The latest figures out of China add to concern that the world's second-largest economy is faltering. Last week, an unexpected slowdown in China's economic growth cast fresh doubt over the strength of its recovery. According to official government figure, Chinese GDP grew by an annualised 7.7pc in the first three months of this year, down from the previous quarter's 7.9pc growth. Analysts had hoped for 8pc growth. The country's new President said earlier this month that China's "ultra-high speed" economic growth, which many see as key to a global recovery, was probably over. "I don't think we will be able to sustain an ultra-high speed of economic growth and it is not what we want either," Xi Jinping told business figures at the Boao Forum. But the president, who came to power last month after ascending to the leadership of the ruling Communist Party in November, said it was still possible to "sustain a relatively high speed" of growth. "The Chinese economy is in good shape," he added. While China's own growth target for 2013 stands at a modest 7.5pc, global forecasters keenly expect a rebound for the country after growth slowed to a 13-year low in 2012.