China Mulls New Stimulus, Higher Deficit to Meet Growth Goal
- Beijing mulls at least $137 billion additional debt: sources
- Discussions come as recent support failed to boost growth
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China is considering raising its budget deficit for 2023 as the government prepares to unleash a new round of stimulus to help the economy meet the official growth target, according to people familiar with the matter.
Policymakers are weighing the issuance of at least 1 trillion yuan ($137 billion) of additional sovereign debt for spending on infrastructure such as water conservancy projects, said the people, asking not be identified discussing a private matter. That could raise this year’s budget deficit to well above the 3% cap set in March, one of the people said. An announcement may come as early as this month, another person said, though deliberations are ongoing and the government’s plans could change.