More empty statements?
No second stimulus plan for China
Thursday, 5 March 2009 15:46
The Chinese prime minister has said the country is facing unprecedented difficulties in the face of the global financial crisis. However, Wen Jiabao said the government was still aiming for 8% growth this year backed by a massive stimulus package.
International stock markets had rallied strongly yesterday on rumours that Prime Minister Wen Jiabao would unveil a second stimulus package in his address to the National People's Congress.
While no second stimulus plan was forthcoming, he did give further details of the €470 billion package that China is is investing to try to make up for the fall in its exports.
Wen's assessment of the situation was blunt. The global crisis continues to spread and get worse he said, and demand in continuing to shrink.
But he said China would ride out the recession, and repeated the country's target of 8% economic growth. That is the minimum the leadership thinks is needed to avoid social unrest because of unemployment.
Most of China's stimulus package will focus on infrastructure but there is also an increase in social spending to try to persuade the Chinese public to spend rather than save.
Source:
http://www.rte.ie/business/2009/0305/china.html
China targets 8% growth despite crisis
By Geoff Dyer in Beijing
Published: March 5 2009 02:09 | Last updated: March 5 2009 12:43
China will meet its goal of 8 per cent economic growth this year, Premier Wen Jiabao said on Thursday, although he did not outline any new spending proposals to revive the economy.
In his annual “work report” to the National People’s Congress in Beijing, Mr Wen said that the global financial crisis was deepening but that the goal of 8 per cent growth, which has been an unofficial target for months, was still realistic.
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China's stimulus plan aims to get poor farmers spending
China's prime minister is to set out plans for a massive stimulus intended to prompt its hundreds of millions of poor farmers to spend more money.
By Richard Spencer and Peter Foster in Beijing
Last Updated: 9:59PM GMT 04 Mar 2009
Excerpt:
Arthur Kroeber, who runs the Dragonomics economic research consultancy in Beijing, said he doubted a doubling of the stimulus package would be announced immediately. But he said the decline in exports and the property market made a boost inevitable if the government wanted to keep its target of eight per cent growth this year.
He estimated that health spending was set to rise by about 30 per cent a year for three years, but cautioned that it would take three or four years to see any effect on consumer confidence. "This is a long-term effect," he said.
Comlete Article:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/f...-spending.html