Caterpillar upbeat on China

US construction equipment maker Caterpillar (CAT.NYSE) on Monday said it was upbeat on the Chinese economy this year, despite fears of an emerging markets slowdown, Reuters reported. Caterpillar said its 2014 outlook assumed the Chinese economy would grow at a rate slightly above 7.5% in 2014, enough to support additional sales of its machinery as well as increased demand for industrial commodities. The comments came as the company reported another strong quarter of construction equipment sales in China. Brad Halverson, the chief finance officer, said: “At this point, we don’t see a meltdown in China.”