CHINA TOPIX

03/28/2024 03:16:38 pm

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China abjures another massive financial stimulus

Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao said China will not resort to massive stimulus spending such as it did in 2008 since it has the potential to keep its growth in the "proper range" this time around.

"China has the potential to sustain a 7 to 8 percent growth rate in the next 10 years," Zhu told Chinese media after meeting with finance ministers and central bank governors of the Group of 20 or G20 countries.

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Zhu noted that Beijing will not unleash stimulus measures in response to short-term fluctuation. The central government will, however, take a medium- and long-term view of China's economic fundamentals while pushing its reform strategy in order to achieve quality growth.

"One of the biggest risks to China's economy is still the spillover effect from the U.S. monetary policy adjustment," Zhu pointed out.

The US Federal Reserve in December 2013 announced it would gradually taper a monthly stimulus package used to prop up the sagging US economy.

The announcement led to capital flight and increased financial volatility in emerging economies and fueled fears of deflation in Europe. The Fed is widely expected to end its bond buying at the end of this year, but if the US economy grows as expected.

This will be followed the Fed's first interest rate hike that is expected to shake-up world economies, including that of China, before the end of 2015.

In its latest World Economic Outlook, the International Monetary Fund said the renewed rise in financial volatility last January spotlighted the problems faced by emerging economies when confronting the changing external environment.

Zhu agreed with the IMF assessment, saying the global recovery remains fragile and that vulnerabilities have increased in recent months. He said Fed and Chinese officials have been coordinating well in terms of the Fed's policy intention.

Zhu also downplayed the financial dangers posed by China's shadow banking system. He noted that these problems were manageable in scale but that its rapid growth was challenging financial regulation.

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