Logo 17 Aug 2023

Focused

Premier Li Qiang is keeping the government laser-focused on the macroeconomy.
It's been 17 days since the State Council said it is "necessary to strengthen countercyclical adjustments."

Since then, there's been a ton of policy talk focused on supporting the private sector, stimulating rural consump...

Premier Li Qiang is keeping the government laser-focused on the macroeconomy.

It's been 17 days since the State Council said it is "necessary to strengthen countercyclical adjustments."

Call us ungrateful: But these are supply-side policies aimed at greasing the cogs of China's long-run, sustainable economic growth.

  • Important? Yes.
  • Critical to China's short-term economic recovery? No.

Li's a tease: But just as we thought the government had lost interest in short-term countercyclical stimulus, Wednesday's State Council plenary meeting convinced us otherwise.

The State Council's plenary meetings – which involve all the government big dogs – typically cover a bunch of wide-ranging issues.

But this meeting readout was laser-focused on the economy, calling for:

  • Boosting consumption
  • Stimulating investment
  • Promoting industrial upgrading
  • Proactively helping businesses

Li also urged government officials to “further promote and ensure the completion of annual goals.”

Get relieved: Li wants to ensure China's entire government machinery is focused on the short-term economic challenges at hand.

  • That particularly involves boosting domestic demand.

Our take: If Li's serious about ensuring the completion of "annual goals," then stronger economic support is in the pipeline.

sources

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