, Columnist
China Rate Cut Steals Plenum's Muffled Thunder
The economy won’t feel much stimulus from the minimal easing after the Communist Party’s big gathering.
Red flags fly at Tiananmen Square.
Photographer: Na Bien/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
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China’s economic difficulties are too hard to ignore. At the five-yearly Third Plenum — a gathering of the Communist Party leadership — that ended last week, the urgency for fiscal reforms and stimulus was more pressing than ever. The dire nature of the economy meant that something had to give, at least to rescue short-term growth.