BEIJING, June 30 (Reuters) - Factory activity in China returned to expansion in June, driven by strong exports of high-tech products linked to the artificial intelligence boom, an official survey showed on Tuesday, although shipments of other goods remained weak along with declining domestic demand.

The survey conducted by the Office for National Statistics showed that the official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector rose to 50.3 in June from 50.0 in May, exceeding expectations in a Reuters poll of economists and crossing the 50 threshold that separates growth from contraction.

The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the non-manufacturing sector, which includes services and construction, improved to 50.2 from 50.1 in May, while the composite index registered 50.6 compared to 50.5 in the previous month.

Weakness in the real estate market, employment, and consumer spending continues to dampen growth, leaving China dependent on global demand to absorb the goods produced by its industrial sector.

There is huge international demand for semiconductors that power data centers and advanced electronics, which plays into China's manufacturing strengths.

* Weakness of other charges

But there doesn't seem to be much demand for other goods. For example, the latest trade data for May showed that furniture exports grew by only 1.9 percent in value year-on-year, while shipments of automated data processing equipment jumped 60 percent during the same period.

The situation is not much better domestically, as the latest data shows that retail sales for May fell for the first time in more than three years, and that new home prices are declining at a faster pace.

In the latest sign that the $20 trillion economy is not operating at full capacity, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday that China’s central bank has instructed some commercial banks to increase their lending this month.