Economics
China Is Planning a New, Relaxed Approach to Growth
- Government seen eager to avoid Thucydides, Middle-Income Traps
- Stability the priority for 2017 as leadership reshuffle looms
Nielsen: China Growth Falls to 3% Within Five Years
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As China’s top leaders tallied the cost of another year of debt-fueled growth at a December meeting, the imperative for stability as a leadership reshuffle loomed later this year prompted an unexpected conclusion.
The price was too high, the leaders agreed, according to a person familiar with the situation. The buildup of debt used to fuel smokestack industries from steel to cement had helped win the short-term battle for growth, but the triumph itself undermined the foundations of long-term expansion, the leaders decided, according to the person, who asked not to be named because the meeting was private.