CHINA'S manufacturing growth slowed in May from the fastest pace in four years as output and orders cooled, according to a survey of purchasing managers by CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets.

The CLSA China Purchasing Managers' Index fell to a seasonally adjusted 54.7 from 55.4 in April, the company said yesterday in an e-mailed statement.

"The PMI dipped a little in May but continues to show that the manufacturing economy is robust," said Eric Fishwick, head of economic research at CLSA in Singapore.

China's economic growth may slow moderately in 2008 due to weakening global demand for exports and disruptions from disasters including the May 12 earthquake in Sichuan Province and blizzards in January and February, the central bank said last Friday. A government-backed PMI also showed manufacturing expanded at a slower pace in May, Bloomberg News said.

The CLSA index, started in April 2004, is based on a survey of more than 400 manufacturing companies. The survey tracks changes in output, new orders, export orders, employment, inventories, input costs and output prices. A reading above 50 shows an expansion in business activity, below 50 a contraction.

The output index fell to 56.7 in May from 57.9 in April, while the index of new orders eased to 57.3 from 58.6.

China's economy, the world's fourth largest, grew 10.6 percent in the first quarter from a year ago.