China’s Attempt to Boost Demand Is Stifled by Wall of Austerity
- Beijing shifts emphasis from infrastructure with consumer aid
- But local officials are tightening belts due to budget crunch
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Finance chiefs in Beijing are testing new ways to boost the economy by encouraging demand, breaking with long-established practice as threats to the country’s growth target mount.
The trouble is, this embrace of a more expansionary policy in China’s capital is effectively getting canceled out in the provinces – where authorities are in full belt-tightening mode.