24 Jul 2013
China sets 7% growth as bottom line, eyes fresh stimulus
FXstreet.com (Barcelona) - Chinese Premier Li Keqiang provided a juicy headline during Tuesday, suggesting the country may have to rethink its 'non-stimulatory' monetary policies should the economic growth fall below 7%, according to local media reports.
Mr Li said that 7% is seen as the 'bottom line', and if target not met, there will be other options on the table as the government cannot afford the growth rate to deteriorate further, Xinhua News Agency reported.
According to Beijing News, Mr. Li added: "As long as the economic growth rate, employment and other indicators don't slip below our lower limit and inflation doesn't exceed our upper limit we'll focus on restructuring and pushing reforms."
As Ambrose Evans-Pritchard from the Telegraph notes: "Mr Li's comments suggest a major shift in policy by Beijing, which has deliberately engineered a slow-down over recent months by squeezing credit. The government has been rattled by upheavals in the interbank market and has begun to heed warnings that the crackdown has gone too far."
Mr Li said that 7% is seen as the 'bottom line', and if target not met, there will be other options on the table as the government cannot afford the growth rate to deteriorate further, Xinhua News Agency reported.
According to Beijing News, Mr. Li added: "As long as the economic growth rate, employment and other indicators don't slip below our lower limit and inflation doesn't exceed our upper limit we'll focus on restructuring and pushing reforms."
As Ambrose Evans-Pritchard from the Telegraph notes: "Mr Li's comments suggest a major shift in policy by Beijing, which has deliberately engineered a slow-down over recent months by squeezing credit. The government has been rattled by upheavals in the interbank market and has begun to heed warnings that the crackdown has gone too far."