Thanks to improved business efficiency, the Chinese mainland saw its competitiveness ranking rise two places to 21st in IMD Business School's world competitiveness report.

"China is stable in terms of economic performance, whereas other countries are facing difficult times. There is an improvement in the business efficiency factor, more specifically in the labor market, finance, management practices and attitudes and values," Anne-France Borgeaud Pierazzi, senior economist and head of IMD World Competitiveness Center Operation, told China Daily.

Sixty economies around the world were compared in terms of economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency and infrastructure.