China’s stimulus falls short, as a showdown with Trump looms
The country’s rulers may be saving their fiscal ammunition in case of a trade war
ECONOMISTS SOMETIMES say that China suffers from the three Ds: debt, deflation and poor demography. America’s presidential election added a fourth: Donald Trump, who has threatened to slap high tariffs on Chinese exports when he returns to the White House. To counter these dangers, investors had hoped China would announce a decisive fiscal rescue package after a legislative meeting on November 8th. China’s leaders, though, seem stuck in a cautious crouch. After the meeting, the finance ministry unveiled a new plan to tackle one of the Ds: debt. But it shared no new measures that would help it beat back deflation.
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This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “Hidden debts, crouching rulers”
From the November 16th 2024 edition
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Trump, trade and feeding China’s pigs
As a trade war looms, China looks to cut its reliance on America
Helping America’s hawks get inside the head of Xi Jinping
China’s leader is a risk-taker. How far will he go in confronting America?
Snuffing out the flame of freedom in Hong Kong
Dozens of pro-democracy activists are thrown into jail for up to a decade
China’s greatest dumpling run
A big gathering of young cyclists is ended by officials
A spate of horrific car-rammings shakes China
They are known as “revenge on society” attacks
Mega-polluter China believes it is a climate saviour
It accounts for almost 40% of global investment in clean energy
