‘Do whatever it takes’: Beijing urged to act as China’s economy falters

theguardian.com:

At a recent online gathering of top Chinese economists, a palpable sense of urgency filled the virtual meeting room. In recent weeks, a slew of reports by Chinese and foreign economists pointed to a deteriorating economy. Outside the country, talk of China being the engine of global economic growth no longer convinces.

During the meeting Huang Yiping, a Peking University professor and a former central bank adviser, urged Beijing to “do whatever it takes to save the economy”. Huang was paraphrasing a line from the height of the European debt crises more than a decade ago, when the European Central Bank’s then president, Mario Draghi, said it was ready to “do whatever it takes to preserve the euro”.

Huang suggested: “Cashflow problems have shown up for many enterprises and households. More direct support is needed for affected companies and people.” His remarks have resonated with locked-down social media users after reports of the meeting were released on Sunday. “[He’s] a courageous Chinese intellectual,” one wrote on WeChat.

China’s economy is struggling. This week, official data showed a sharp fall in economic activity in the past month, as lockdowns confined hundreds of millions of consumers to their homes and hit supply chains. Retail sales in April shrank more than 11% from a year earlier – the biggest contraction since March 2020, shortly after the Covid outbreak.

In March, the premier, Li Keqiang, pledged to grow China’s GDP this year at “around 5.5%” – the lowest official target in three decades. However, Fitch ratings earlier this month cut China’s 2022 forecast GDP growth further, to 4.3% from 4.8%. Meanwhile, according to state media, fiscal revenues plunged last month across Chinese cities as a result of Covid