Finance & economics | No rush

China’s central bank tries to save the economy—and the stockmarket

But it will need more help from the government

Hoardings surround the People's Bank of China building in Beijing, China, on May 29th 2024
The start of a new cycle?Photograph: Getty Images
|Hong Kong

As China’s economy has descended into deflation, the central bank’s lack of urgency has been a source of frustration for many economists. Policymakers at the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) initially expressed confidence that deflation was, so to speak, transitory. When it then persisted, they worried less about falling prices than about the side-effects of fighting them. They were reluctant to ease monetary policy decisively as China’s currency was too weak, banks’ profit margins too slim and bond yields too low.

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This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “No rush”

From the September 28th 2024 edition

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