Race to Refloat China Recalls Heady Days of 2008

Ben Bernanke, former boss of the Federal Reserve, once mused that his book on the grueling effort to combat the 2008 financial crisis should be called something like “Before Asia Opens.” Now Asia’s pre-eminent commercial power is in the midst of a re-awakening for the ages. The implications for the global economy will count it as one of the most significant developments in the history of the pandemic.

China’s rapid reopening goes way beyond the burying of Covid Zero. We are witnessing a shift in economic strategy that has at its foundation the removal of any constraint on growth. The pivot recalls the frantic months of late 2008 and early 2009 when officials raced to salvage the US financial system, and the policy somersaults in Europe a decade ago to preserve the common currency.