27 October 2009 / REUTERS, BEIJING
China’s economic growth is likely to speed up this quarter, but the government will stay the course on its fiscal stimulus and loose monetary policy, senior officials said on Monday.
Despite the emphasis on policy continuity, an unmistakable shift towards greater optimism in China’s official rhetoric has led analysts to conclude that Beijing is thinking about how to start unwinding its ultra-loose pro-growth policies. Restating the thrust of a cabinet statement issued last week, Vice Premier Li Keqiang said the economy had performed better than expected and its recovery was now on solid ground. “The pace of growth is quickening quarter by quarter,” Li told an international tax conference. The upturn in growth has also put China on track to meet its budget targets after a difficult start to the year, giving it the fiscal firepower to continue supporting the economy, Vice Finance Minister Wang Jun told the conference.
