China responding to slower growth prospects with more flexible policy

Chinese authorities are beginning to react to the prospect of slower growth, perhaps conscious of le...

Chinese authorities are beginning to react to the prospect of slower growth, perhaps conscious of lessons learned in earlier austerity programmes and alert to potential damage to the wider economy. When the Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party met on 25 July, they delivered key messages on economic policy for the second half of 2008. The leaders vowed to maintain a "stable and fast growth" and control "inflation at an 'acceptable' level", with the fight against inflation changed from "top of the top priorities" to an "outstanding policy". These changes are shifts from the previ...