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China's Growth Target Is the Next Test for Its Central Bank

  • Zhou assures that excessive stimulus not needed to meet target
  • More monetary easing could put pressure on now-becalmed yuan
Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), waves during a news conference on the sidelines of the fourth session of the 12th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, China, on Saturday, March 12,.

Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), waves during a news conference on the sidelines of the fourth session of the 12th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, China, on Saturday, March 12,.

Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg
Bloomberg News

China’s central bank chief oozed calm in an annual press briefing in Beijing Saturday, supported by weeks of composure in markets as investor anxiety over the nation’s currency policy eased.

How long the lull lasts will depend on how policy makers manage a balancing act made tougher by a weaker-than-anticipated start to the year for the world’s No. 2 economy. After People’s Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan spoke at the country’s annual gathering of the legislature, data showed an “alarming” failure of growth to respond to recent stimulus, Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Tom Orlik and Fielding Chen concluded.