In portraying the economy’s trajectory as a success, Li stressed that officials did “not seek short-term growth while accumulating long-term risk” — a veiled reference to Beijing’s old methods of powering growth by borrowing heavily and funding the now-overheated real estate sector.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang gave his clearest signal yet that Beijing won’t resort to huge stimulus to revive growth amid the worst bout of deflation in decades. Another batch of troubling data is testing the patience of investors who worry that Beijing is behind the curve.
Speaking to leaders at the World Economic Forum this week, Li trumpeted his nation’s ability to hit its roughly 5% growth target last year without flooding the economy with “massive stimulus.” While data Wednesday confirmed that economic goal, it also showed China recording its worst deflationary streak since the Asian Financial Crisis. Home prices fell last month by the most since 2015, underscoring the scale of the property crisis.
