BEIJING - The confidence of economists about China's economic growth prospects in the fourth quarter is on the rise, according to a latest survey.

Of 133 economists surveyed by the Institute of Industrial Economics under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, 49.6 percent believe that growth in the fourth quarter will be flat from or higher than the same period of last year.

The figure was 3.1 percentage points more than that from the survey conducted in the third quarter.

An economic climate index based on these economists' views rose from 63 in the third quarter to 68, showing growing confidence in the country's growth, the survey said.

Over 72 percent of economists said full year growth would be above 6.5 percent in 2016, much higher than the survey in the previous quarter, it showed.

China's GDP grew 6.7 percent in the first three quarters of 2016, steady with the first half and within the government's target range of between 6.5 and 7 percent for 2016.