The 10th national executives survey ended recently and a report was officially released on November 24, 2002. The three-month survey was jointly conducted by the Development Research Center of the State Council and the Chinese Entrepreneurs Investigation Team.

According to the report, 57.9 percent of company executives, up 13.5 percent over last year, think China's macro-economy runs "normal" this year; 34.2 percent believe that after China's entry into the WTO, the domestic market will be "favorable" for companies, 16.5 percent higher than those who chose "unfavorable." The percentage of those who think their companies are operating "well" is 25.1 percent higher than that of "not well."

Experts say that the survey indicates company executives, who highly appreciate the reforms and various measures taken in restructuring the country's economy in recent years, are confident in the future.

Yao Jingyuan, spokesperson and chief economist of the National Bureau of Statistics, noted that the result of the survey stands in line with the data they have. Entrepreneurs' optimistic expectation makes it possible to pull up consumer price index (CPI) and ease China's deflation pressure accordingly. Yao said, "Since it's already the end of November, we are confident that our GDP will grow by 8 percent to reach 10 trillion yuan (US$1.2 trillion) this year."

(china.org.cn by Tang Fuchun November 27, 2002)