China’s economy started the year with more bad news as official data showed that the manufacturing sector shrank for a fifth straight month in December. That will increase pressure on the government to stimulate growth in the world’s second-biggest economy, which has been slowing as it struggles with overcapacity and a heavy debt burden after years of breakneck expansion, as well as weak global demand for its factories’ products. Global investors are watching China’s economy closely after a year in which commodity prices slumped because of lower Chinese demand and fears of a hard landing hung over markets in emerging and developed nations. The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index for December came in at 49.7, according to figures released on Friday — slightly above November’s performance but broadly in line with economists’ expectations. A reading below 50 implies a contraction, while a reading above 50 suggests growth. China’s national bureau of statistics said that in spite of the slight improvement in the PMI, financial tensions had become “more prominent” toward the end of the year and “the downward pressure on manufacturing was still relatively big”.