Business confidence rebounds despite little change in output

China's business climate index - a major gauge of the country's macroeconomic outlook - climbed back in the third quarter from the lowest level within a year seen in the second quarter, data released on Friday showed.

The business climate index stood at 121.5 points in the third quarter, up 0.9 points from the previous quarter, according to the data released by the National Bureau of Statistics.

The figure was well above the boom-bust line of 100 points, which indicates that Chinese companies are still operating smoothly, even amid the slow global economic recovery.