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BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese bankers are optimistic about the steady growth of the country's economy despite the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), an industrial report showed.

The bankers attach great importance to China's future technological innovation and progress as well as the development of smaller businesses, according to the 2019 Chinese bankers survey report jointly released by the China Banking Association and global auditing and consulting firm PwC.

The urban infrastructure industry had remained the top receiver of credit investment for five consecutive years by 2019, followed by the sectors of information technology service and pharmaceutical.]

Micro and small enterprises ranked top on the list of banks' future key clients, chosen by 84.1 percent of bankers surveyed, said the report.

Lending to micro and small businesses and supply chain financing led banks' corporate financial businesses, winning the support of 80.3 percent and 53.2 percent of the respondents, respectively.

Around 60 percent of the respondents predicted the non-performing loan ratio will fall between 0.5 to 2 percent with gradual declines in three years, while most bankers believed improvement in asset quality and development of financial technology will enhance the steady growth of the industry.

The report has been released for 11 consecutive years, with the 2019 report basing on the survey participated by various types of banking institutions in 31 provincial-level administrative regions and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.