China's Entrepreneur Confidence Index Slightly up in Q1

BEIJING, Mar. 17 -- China's Entrepreneur Confidence Index(ECI) continued to rise in the first quarter of this year, up 2.1 percentage points from the fourth quarter 76.3 percent last year, according to a survey conducted by the People's Bank of China, or the central bank.

The ECI is a gauge of the understanding, views and projections of business people.

Meanwhile, China's business climate index, a major measure of macro economic outlook, edged 0.2 percentage points down to 71.1 percent in the first quarter compared with the previous quarter, ending the continuing upward trend recorded in the past seven quarters, according to the survey made public on Wednesday.

The index was calculated on the basis of a survey targeted 5,000 entrepreneurs nationwide.