Is China’s new stimulus enough to revive its economy?
Al Jazeera
China is trying to revive its economy from a COVID-era slump, but is it doing too little, too late?
In September, China’s central bank announced its most aggressive measures since the pandemic to get its economy back on track after it became clear the country might miss its 5 percent gross domestic product (GDP) growth target for 2024.
The world’s second-largest economy is still struggling from the lingering side-effects of COVID-19 – when China implemented some of the longest and harshest lockdowns – to the collapse of its property sector in 2021, and deeper societal changes like a falling birthrate and ageing population.
Beijing has so far avoided the kind of 4 trillion RMB ($586bn) stimulus it used in 2008 following the global financial crisis, but its latest moves have been met with a positive response from investors. Observers, however, wonder whether it will be enough.
What has China done so far?
China’s recent stimulus measures have primarily targeted its monetary policy, which focuses on banks and money supply rather than “spending its way out” of a downturn.