A series of massive urban stimulus plans have been announced recently by several Chinese cities. Economists are split on whether the projects can speed up the country's growth rate and accommodate the influx of urban migrants, reports Chris Oliver.
With China's economic growth rate falling to its slowest pace since the 2008 global crisis, and more deceleration predicted, several local Chinese governments have announced stimulus packages in the hundreds of billions of dollars in recent weeks. The latest came out of the port city of Tianjin, who announced "plans to invest 1.5 trillion yuan ($236 billion) to offset its slowing
growth rates," writes Oliver. "The four-year plan is targeted at 10 industries ranging
from petrochemicals to ports."
"The announcement comes on the heels
of similar stimulus packages in the major metropolis of Chongqing and
the southeast province of Guangdong, which unveiled plans to spend 1.5
trillion yuan and 1 trillion yuan, respectively. Big stimulus
packages were also unveiled by other Chinese cities in recent weeks,
including Wuhan, Ningbo and Guizhou, according to state media."
While some economists see the plans, which effectively repeat the government's initial response to global economic recession, as the right medicine, other are not convinced.
"Standard & Poor's said Wednesday that massive public spending
might boost growth rates in the short term, but it's not clear such
stimulus would bring about longer-term benefits to the Chinese economy," writes Oliver.
"It
highlighted concerns over the efficiency of some projects, adding that
wasteful investment could even have a toxic effect down the road."
FULL STORY: Can China’s stimulus plans really help?
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