Impact of global crisis on China deepening, official warns job losses could fuel instability
China's top economic planner warned Thursday that the impact of the global
financial crisis is worsening and said rising job losses could fuel instability.
Beijing
announced its biggest interest rate cut in 11 years on Wednesday to
boost consumer and company spending, reflecting its growing urgency
about reviving growth as it launches a multibillion-dollar stimulus
package.
"This crisis is spreading all over the world and its
impact on China's economy is deepening," Zhang Ping, chairman of the
Cabinet's National Development and Reform Commission, said at a news
conference. He said economic indicators for November were showing an
"even faster decline," though he gave no details.
China's
economic growth is expected to fall to about 9 percent this year, down
from last year's 11.9 percent. That would be the fastest of any major
economy, but Chinese leaders worry about possible unrest as
unemployment rises, especially in export industries where factories are
shutting down as global demand plummets.
"Excessive production
halts and closing of enterprises will cause massive unemployment, which
will lead to instability," Zhang said.
The 1.08 percentage-point
cut in China's key one-year lending rate on Wednesday -- China's
biggest rate cut since 1997 and the fourth in three months -- is "one
of the essential measures to stimulate our economic growth," Zhang said.
Zhang
said the 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion), two-year stimulus package
announced Nov. 9 should add about 1 percentage point to China's growth
rate. That was below the 2 percentage point increase forecast by
independent analysts.
Zhang said Beijing will take steps to
boost growth and ensure the economy continues to create jobs. But he
did not respond to a question about whether Beijing is planning to
enact additional stimulus plans.
A state newspaper reported last
weekend that Zhang's agency is working on an additional stimulus
package that is meant to supplement the Nov. 9 package with more
spending on health, education and other social programs.
The
main stimulus package calls for insulating China from the global
downturn by injecting money into the economy through higher spending on
construction of airports, highways and other projects. It is meant to
spur domestic consumption.
The cut in the one-year lending rate to 5.58 percent, effective Thursday, is aimed at encouraging consumers and
businesses to borrow and spend, which is seen as a more effective way to fuel growth than government spending.
The
stimulus package includes 1.8 trillion yuan ($263 billion) in spending
on airports, highways and other, 370 billion yuan ($54 billion) to
improve infrastructure in the poor countryside and 350 billion ($51
billion) for environmental projects, according to Zhang.
It also
includes 280 billion yuan ($41 billion) for construction of low-income
housing and 40 billion yuan ($5.8 billion) for health and education
programs, Zhang said.
Zhang said the government is working on
how local governments will pay for their share of the stimulus
spending. The central government is to supply 1.2 trillion yuan ($175
billion) of the total stimulus spending, with the rest coming from
lower-level governments and state companies.
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