PHOTO
An illustration of Chinese currency 100 yuan notes issued by the People's Bank of China, with an image of parliament building the Great Hall of the People on the rear on November 12, 2010 in Beijing. A senior US official speaking at the G20 summit in Seoul said the United States is "very encouraged" by China's progress in allowing the yuan to rise, despite "heat" and public rows with Beijing over exchange rates. The Chinese currency has appreciated by about two percent against the dollar since Beijing pledged in June to allow it to trade more freely but China has warned that any sudden rise in the value of the unit would pummel its businesses and trigger massive unemployment. AFP PHOTO/Frederic J. BROWN (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN / AFP)
China's finance minister will hold a briefing this weekend focused on fiscal policy, authorities said Wednesday, as investors seek further action after a recent slew of measures aimed at reversing an economic slump.
The news comes after traders on the mainland and in Hong Kong were left disappointed by a news conference Tuesday in which officials failed to unveil any new stimulus and provided scant detail on its plans for implementing the raft measures already flagged.
Lan Fo'an will use Saturday's news conference to outline "countercyclical adjustment of fiscal policy to promote high-quality economic development", Beijing announced.
The world's second-largest economy has struggled to regain its footing since the lifting of pandemic measures at the end of 2022.
Economists say more direct state support is needed to boost flagging consumption and achieve the government's official national growth target of about five percent for this year.
Beijing last month announced over several days its most aggressive stimulus in years, including key interest rate cuts and the easing of restrictions on homebuying.
An anticipated event Tuesday led by the head of China's National Development and Reform Commission dashed investor hopes for more measures, with Commission head Zheng Shanjie saying only that the government was "fully confident" of hitting its growth target.
"It is likely that they first want to see what the effect is of the previous stimulus before adding new stimulus measures," Teeuwe Mevissen, senior China economist at Rabobank, told AFP.
"It is well known that (President Xi Jinping) is not a big fan of generous social security and/or fiscal stimulus to increase private demand," he said.
"So if fiscal stimulus for the demand side of the economy is not strictly necessary then they will likely refrain from it."
