The CKGSB Business Sentiment Index Chart
BSI
DI Current operating conditions
DI Expected operating conditions
DI Investment timing
DI Production
DI Employment
DI inventory
DI Electricity consumption
DI Over-supply in domestic market
DI Over-supply in foreign market
DI Unit cost change
DI Labor cost change
DI Index of price
DI Raw material cost change
Lending attitude diffusion index of banking sector
About the CKGSB Business Sentiment Index
CKGSB’s Center on Finance and Economic Growth surveys more than 2,000 Chinese companies from within the industrial sector every quarter to provide the most comprehensive set of independent data currently available. Led by CKGSB Professors of Finance Gan Jie and Erica Xuenan Li, this large-scale, micro-level quarterly company survey on China’s industrial economy, which began in 2014 Q2, sheds light on how the sector is coping and what types of reforms are needed—based not on opinion, but on a painstaking, fact-gathering process.
Described as the first of its kind, this survey is based on stratified random sampling by industry, region and size from the National Bureau of Statistics’ population of 488,000 industrial firms that have sales of over five million RMB. The survey has around 2,000 responding firms each time.
Each quarter, the professors reveal their survey findings, which are often surprising, given the usual themes found in the media today. They then outline some policy recommendations which are necessary to deal with the problems exposed by the survey’s data.
Latest survey results
In Q3 2025, Chinese enterprises operated in a complex environment: external headwinds persisted while domestic signals improved.
Externally, tariffs and trade frictions remained elevated, keeping external demand expectations under pressure. Domestically, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 12.73% in Q3, climbing from 3,445 to 3,882 points—reaching its highest range in nearly a decade and marking one of the largest single-quarter gains in this cycle. September’s service consumption measures reinforced stability expectations. The Federal Reserve’s cautious monetary stance maintained balanced global liquidity, providing indirect support for domestic asset prices and corporate financing conditions.
- Business Sentiment Index: 54 (unchanged from Q2)
- Operating Conditions Diffusion Index: 64 (unchanged from Q2)
- Expected Operating Conditions Diffusion Index: 51 (+1 point)
- Investment Timing Diffusion Index: 48 (-1 point)
For more information, or to arrange an interview with the professors, please email Xuefang Tian (Julie) at xftian@ckgsb.edu.cn.
