BEIJING, May 12 -- China is upgraded to the 19th from 31st on the World Competitiveness Yearbook issued by the Lausanne-based International Institute of Management Development.

    The report will have positive impact on foreign investors and further boost their confidence on the Chinese mainland.

    The ranking involves 61 countries and regions and makes evaluations under more than 300 criteria, including infrastructure, corporate efficiency, economic performance and government functioning.

    The United States, China's Hong Kong, Singapore and Iceland have secured their leadership on the list as they did last year. They are followed by Denmark, Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Luxemburg, and Finland.

    South Korea retrogressed to the 38th from 29th. And China's Taiwan is downgraded to 18th from 11th.

    (Source: People's Daily Online)