China's manufacturing expanded for a second month as government stimulus spending stoked a fledgling recovery in the world's third-biggest economy.

The Purchasing Manager's Index rose to a seasonally adjusted 53.5 in April from 52.4 in March, the Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said on Friday in Beijing in an e-mailed statement. A reading above 50 indicates an expansion.

Stronger Chinese demand is helping exporting nations across Asia, where South Korea reported on Friday a 9 percent gain in shipments in April from the previous month. Goldman Sachs Group Inc says the Chinese economy will grow 8.3 percent this year even as countries from the US to Japan are mired in recessions.