In its June investment outlook published last week, Amundi said it remained positive on China because the country remained cheaper than other emerging markets, adding that the reopening was playing out but the road was "bumpy".

"For sure we were surprised by this data because we were more of the view that the reopening could have put some upside surprise in terms of overall growth in China," said Cosimo Marasciulo, Amundi's head of fixed income absolute return, referring to Wednesday's data.

"That doesn't change the overall view. But clearly it's a surprise that we need to see if it's see just one month data or if it can be something more persistent."

Marasciulo added that the weak China PMI data explained the negative growth dynamic in Germany, which has slipped into a recession.

"So it's something to watch, not only for China itself, but also for the implication for the euro zone as a whole," said Marasciulo.

(Reporting by Yoruk Bahceli; editing by Dhara Ranasinghe)