BEIJING – China said it’s confident in reaching its economic targets this year and promised further support for growth, although it held back in unleashing more stimulus in a disappointment to investors looking for more fuel for a world-beating stock rally.
Officials in the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the country’s top economic planning agency, said on Oct 8 they would speed up spending while largely reiterating plans to boost investment and increase direct support for low-income groups and new graduates.
They added that China would continue to issue ultra-long sovereign bonds next year to support major projects and bring forward a 100 billion yuan (S$18.4 billion) investment in key strategic areas originally budgeted for 2025 to this year.
“We are fully confident in realising our goals for the whole year,” Zheng Shanjie, the NDRC’s chairman, told reporters in the first briefing following a weeklong national holiday. He noted that China is facing a more complex environment at home and abroad.
A rally in onshore Chinese stocks on their return from a week-long holiday fizzled quickly as traders questioned Beijing’s resolve to add more stimulus. The benchmark CSI 300 Index was up about 6 per cent after surging almost 11 per cent in the opening minutes. A gauge of Chinese shares listed in Hong Kong tumbled almost 11 per cent before paring some losses.
“Nothing much is new compared to the previous announcements, and the latest commitment to fiscal stimulus looks weaker than market expectations,” said Gary Ng, senior economist at Natixis. “The front-loading of fiscal spending will only help stabilise growth and will not be enough to engineer a sharper rebound.”
The press briefing was closely watched for further steps to lift the economy after Chinese leaders signaled a desire to draw a line under the nation’s growth slump. The