Positive market expectations boost confidence in Chinese economy

The quality and returns of economy have improved continuously since the start of this year and the stable and positive market expectations have boosted confidence in Chinese economy from enterprises, residents and international markets in 2018, according to National Development and Reform Commission.

The real economy of the country has registered good performance as expected since the start of this year with manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) coming at 51.5 in March, the strongest level this year, an article from the commission said.

Small enterprises witnessed a continuous increase in manufacturing activities, as the PMI for small manufacturers jumped to 50.1 percent in March, up 5.3 percentage points from 44.8 percent in February.

The non-manufacturing sector accelerated the pace of growth in March with its PMI standing at 54.6 percent, up 0.2 percentage point from 54.4 in February and the number has remained above 54 percent for 7 consecutive years.

Loan demand for the real economy picked up in the first quarter with the index for loan demand rising 5.2 percentage points from last quarter to 70.9 percent, according to the article citing statistics from the People's Bank of China.

The loan demand for manufacturing industry in quarter one increased to 61.4 percent, up 4.3 percentage points from previous quarter and the demand for non- manufacturing industry jumped to 64.3 percent, up 4.1 percentage points from last quarter.

Entrepreneurs are becoming more optimistic about economic conditions in Q1 with the entrepreneur confidence index coming at 74.3 percent, the highest level since Q3 2011, an investigation from the People's Bank of China revealed.

Real physical indexes have increased sustainably with rapid growth in electricity consumption, a key barometer of economic activity, and the national freight volume, an indicator of economic activity, in the first quarter, the article said.

The electricity consumption of the whole nation rose 9.8 percent in Q1, up 2.9 percentage points year-on-year. The national freight volume was up 6.3 percent year-on-year to 10.2 billion tons in the same period.

Consumer confidence has continued to boom with increasing Consumer Confidence Index and stronger consumption ability of urban depositors, the article said. Consumers showed strong willingness to spend in February with the Consumer Confidence Index reaching 124 points, the highest level since October 1993.

International organizations show confidence in China's economic development with the World Bank uplifting China's growth prospect to 6.5 percent on April 12 from 6.4 percent in last October. The Asian Development Bank also said in a report on April 11 that China's economic growth is expected to reach 6.6 percent this year, citing strong demand from home and abroad.

International experts at the Boao Forum for Asia and China Development Forum were also optimistic about China's economy, believing China will make more contribution to world economy with high-quality development and significant improvement in entrepreneurial and innovative ability.