Chinese Consumers Confident of Growing Economy

A recent survey shows that China' s Index of Consumer Expectations (ICE) climbed up a little in February, showing increased confidence of consumers about the country's economic growth.

According to the survey of consumer confidence released Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the ICE stood at 95.5 points, 0.3 point higher than the previous month.

About 60 percent of those surveyed said they expect the national economy to grow faster this year than in 1999, some 5 percent more than the figure in January.

However, the survey also reveals a weakening confidence in family economic status, as the concern about employment, education, medical care, insurance and housing weighs heavily on the budgets of many families.

Some 70 percent of consumers said they believe this is the right time to buy household electric appliances, according to the Index of Consumer Sentiment (ICS), which was a little bit higher than in January.

More than 50 percent of consumers hold that the domestic consumer goods market is growing healthier in the first two months this year, compared with the same period of last year.

Consumer indexes, including the ICE, ICS, and Index of Current Economic Conditions (ICC), are used internationally as indicators of the overall economic situation and consumer confidence.

Analysts from the bureau said that the worry about insufficient income hinders future consumer spending, thus making the drive of domestic demand more difficult.

They call for greater effort to develop a sound social security system while increasing people's salaries.

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