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China Announces £800bn Stimulus To Boost Confidence
China has announced a total of 8 trillion yuan (£800bn) of “stimulus projects” to try to boost confidence in an economy that appears to be cooling faster than expected.
By Malcolm Moore, in Beijing
7:00PM BST 26 Aug 2012
One Chinese province after another has stepped forward over the last fortnight to announce their plans, in what appears to be a propaganda effort to reassure the public that the economy is still on track.
Meanwhile, Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, promised over the weekend that the Chinese government would intensify its efforts to boost the economy in the second half of the year.
On a visit to Guangdong, the heartland of China’s export industry, Mr Wen warned that “there will still be a lot of problems and uncertainties in exports going forward. The third quarter is a crucial period”.
Analysts said the government could now steer the value of the yuan lower, after a gain of 4.7pc last year against the dollar. Further export tax rebates could also be used to bail out manufacturers.
China’s export sector is suffering from anaemic demand from Europe and the United States. In the first seven months, exports rose 7.8pc, while imports rose 6.4pc, leaving China in danger of missing its 10pc target for trade growth this year. July’s exports grew at the lowest pace since 2009 and there are reports of factory workers leaving and returning to their home provinces for the first time since the financial crisis.
The Telegraph has travelled to the south of China over recent days to witness a slowdown in the coastal economy and in the export sector, and also to areas which are flourishing with new investment, and where the local economy is booming. The picture appears mixed. China, geographically almost the same size as the Eurozone, appears to be struggling in some areas and flourishing in others. A new inland corridor, running from Liaoning in the north to Guizhou in the south, through cities such as Wuhan and Changsha, is booming.
In response, Guangdong has unveiled 177 “core projects” worth 1 trillion yuan, joining a long list of local governments to announce “stimulus” plans. The huge cities of Chongqing and Tianjin, meanwhile, both said they would spend 1.5 trillion yuan, while Guizhou, one of China’s poorest provinces, has said it will spend 3 trillion yuan on eco-tourism and creating a series of national parks.
