Beijing - According to the latest surveys conducted by the central bank on Monday, Chinese entrepreneurs and bankers have expressed increasing optimism about the country's macroeconomy in the first quarter of this year.

Photo taken on Oct. 19, 2020, shows an exterior view of the People's Bank of China in Beijing, the capital of China. (Photo/Peng Ziyang, Xinhua)

According to a recent survey conducted by the People's Bank of China, Chinese entrepreneurs, and bankers have expressed more positive views about the country's macroeconomy in the first quarter of this year. The survey revealed that the entrepreneurs' macroeconomy heat index increased by 10.3 points to 33.8 percent in the first quarter. Of the 5,000 businesses surveyed, 64.6 percent of the entrepreneurs believed that the macroeconomy was operating normally during this period.

The survey on bankers also showed that their macroeconomy heat index rose to 40.2 percent in the first quarter, up 22.8 percentage points from the previous quarter. Additionally, 62.8 percent of the surveyed bankers thought the macroeconomy was operating normally. For the second quarter, the bankers' outlook index for macroeconomy heat increased by 10.7 percentage points to reach 50.9 percent.

Moreover, the survey indicated that the aggregate loan demand rose in the first quarter, with the index increasing by 19 percentage points to reach 78.4 percent.