The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's non-manufacturing sector came in at 56.3 in March, up from 51.4 of February, the National Bureau of Statistics(NBS) said Wednesday.

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

In March, the sub-index for business activities in the services sector stood at 55.2, up from 50.8 in February.

The surge reflects a faster recovery in the services sector as epidemic control efforts paid off and consumption demand continued to increase, said Zhao Qinghe, senior statistician at NBS.

In breakdown, the sub-indexes for business activities in railway and air transportation, telecommunications and satellite transmission as well as financial services came in at above 60, indicating rapid growth of business volume in these areas.

Wednesday's data also showed that the PMI for China's manufacturing sector came in at 51.9 in March, edging up from 50.6 in February. Enditem