Manufacturing activity in China expanded for a second straight month in December as seasonal demand and signs of progress in trade talks with Washington boosted factories' output and order books.

China's official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) was unchanged at 50.2 in December from November, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday, slightly higher than the 50.1 expected in a Reuters poll of analysts.

It also remained above the 50-point mark that separates monthly growth from contraction.