Navigating ‘tough phase’, China says economy is on road to recovery
Positive spin by party mouthpiece, while shying away from ‘chasing rapid growth’, comes as questions linger over China’s stimulus measures
China is trying to cast its economic outlook in a positive light – evidenced by an upbeat editorial in the official mouthpiece and the rapid release of positive data – as Beijing’s refrain from implementing an immediate fiscal boost has roiled market sentiment while the re-election of Donald Trump to the US presidency intensifies external uncertainties.
“We’ve withstood downturns, overcome challenges and kept the economy steady … with clearer signs of a shift from bottoming out to recovering,” said an editorial published by People’s Daily on Monday.
The piece added that the economy was “highly likely to rebound in the fourth quarter, with annual growth targets in sight”, pointing to the impact of existing measures and the accelerated roll-out of incremental policies.
“We must take a comprehensive and objective view of the current economic landscape … addressing the challenges effectively and going all out to push the economy up,” it said.
Key high-frequency economic data for October pointed to “a rebound at the start of the fourth quarter”, the state-run Economic Information Daily reported on Monday, citing the State Information Centre.
The country’s index that gauges offline-consumption sentiment and momentum grew last month by 8.2 per cent, year on year, while online sales of home appliances jumped 40.2 per cent, showing “strong domestic demand potential”, the government agency pointed out.
