China's manufacturing sector grew inOctober at its fastest rate in 18 months,

China's manufacturing sector grew inOctober at its fastest rate in 18 months, a survey has suggested.Thepurchasing managers index (PMI) from the state-sanctioned China Federation ofLogistics and Purchasing rose to 55.2 from 54.3 in September.The survey isa further sign of the strength of the recovery in the Chinese economy, whichgrew at an annual rate of 8.9% between July and September.Many majoreconomies are only just starting to grow after long recessions.Any figureabove 50 in the survey indicates growth in the manufacturing sector.Octoberis the eighth month in a row that the sector has expanded, after six months ofdecline.Government support"These figures show that China's economicgrowth will accelerate in the future," said Zhang Liqun, an economist at theState Council Development Research Center.He added that the economy wouldlikely grow by 9.5% in the final three months of the year.China's strongrecovery has been aided by government stimulus packages, similar to those put inplace by other major world economies.At the end of 2008, the governmentannounced a 4 trillion yuan ($586bn; £355bn) stimulus plan involving increasedspending on infrastructure, such as rail and roads, to boost the domesticeconomy as exports slumped."China's recovery has been impressive, but hasbeen heavily reliant on government-directed investment," said Brian Jackson atthe Royal Bank of Canada in Hong Kong.But economists believe that evenwithout state aid, China's economy will now enjoy robust growth."Externaldemand will provide an additional source of support for growth in the monthsahead," said Mr Jackson, before adding that the government may begin scalingback its support "from early 2010".Jing Ulrich at JP Morgan added that,"while public investment may moderate in the months ahead, private real estateinvestment, consumer spending and export demand should drive growth in thecoming months."Figures released last week showed that the US economy grewby an annual rate of 3.5% between July and September, its first expansion inmore than a year.Germany, France and Japan all returned to growth betweenApril and June.