Labourers pick out gravel from coal along a conveyor belt at a coal mine in Huaibei, Anhui province February 1, 2012. China's factory sector expanded slightly in January, confounding expectations for a contraction and supporting hopes the world's second-biggest economy will avoid a hard landing, a government purchasing managers' index showed. REUTERS/Stringer (CHINA - Tags: BUSINESS ENERGY EMPLOYMENT) CHINA OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN CHINA