MNI BRIEF: China Econ Growth A Priority After Lockdowns-Aide

China needs economic growth above 5% in 2022 to ensure employment through the worst outbreak of the pandemic since 2020, a high-ranking policy advisor told reporters on Wednesday.

Yao Jingyuan, a special researcher at the Counselors’ Office of the State Council, said the target of 11 million jobs is under pressure, particularly when there are 10.8 million of new university graduates this year, adding that a one percentage point growth in GDP could account for 1.8 million to 2.2 million jobs.

The “sudden” and “unexpected” outbreak of lockdowns in cities like Shanghai and Shenzhen is a bigger economic hit than the lockdown of Wuhan two years ago, said Yao, who called for fiscal moves to cut taxes and fees in tandem with monetary actions to reduce borrowing costs for small private businesses.

Monetary policy should respond to the economic slowdown at an active pace by cutting the reserve requirement ratio and even cutting policy rates, and the spillover effects of tighter Federal Reserve policy should be taken into consideration, he said, see: MNI: PBOC Likely To Ease As Lockdowns Hit Output-Advisors.