BEIJING, April 5 -- China's national business climate index rose 8.2 percent year on year to 139.7 points in the first quarter, said the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Thursday.

The index, based on a survey of 19,500 Chinese enterprises by the NBS, has remained at a high level since the second half of 2003.

The mining sector recorded the highest index at 157.9 points, followed by the information technology sector with 155.1 points and the wholesale and retail trade with 151.7 points.

The index for the catering sector was 148.8 points, up 13.5 points from a year ago, the highest rise of any sector.

The index for large enterprises was 162.7 points, much higher than the indices for medium and small sized ones which stood at 126.7 points and 116.7 points.

The indices for China's eastern, central and western regions were 143.9 points, 138.0 points and 132.8 points, up 10.1 points, 5.5 points and 8.7 points respectively.