China's business climate index falls in Q2

BEIJING - China's business climate index, a major gauge of the country's macroeconomic outlook, fell in the second quarter of 2013 to the lowest level in a year, data released on Monday showed.

The business climate index was 120.6 points for the second quarter, down 5 points from the previous quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said.

However, the figure was above the boom-bust line of 100 points, indicating that Chinese enterprises still operate smoothly despite the economic slowdown.

The index for large, medium and small-scaled enterprises was 133.8 points, 122.3 points and 110.1 points, down 3.9 points, 4.2 points and 7.4 points, respectively, compared with the first quarter, the NBS said.

The index ranges from zero to 200. A reading of 100 demarcates expansion from contraction.

On Monday, the NBS also released other economic data. The country's gross domestic product grew 7.5 percent in the second quarter from one year earlier, down from 7.7 percent in the first quarter.