Quotable

"The nationwide survey, which will provide basic data for China's Gini coefficient calculation will cover about 140,000 urban and rural households, and the gathering and use of data will conform to international standards."

Xie Hongguang, deputy chief of the National Bureau of Statistics, saying that urban and rural income surveys will be published to measure the wealth gap in China.

"We find that once a country relaxes its visa policy for Chinese tourists, it usually produces immediate results in the growth of visitor numbers."

Jiang Yiyi, director of China Tourism Academy's International Tourism Development Institute, saying that policy changes indicate that other countries are now realizing the importance of the Chinese market.

"Facing the current world economic situation, Beijing, as a global economic player, will show more firm commitment to stabilizing the situation at the summit."

Jean-Marie Rousseau, director of the Brussels-based consultancy company Initiatives in Territorial Intelligence & Regional Innovation Strategies, saying the participants of the coming EU-China summit will look at the current rise in trade protectionism, which may further dim the outlook for the global economy, and negotiate a way to increase bilateral trade and investment.