MNI BRIEF: China To Boost Support Policies To Ensure Growth

China will strengthen and accelerate supportive policies to help companies affected by the Covid restrictions, guarantee energy and grain supply and stabilize industrial and supply chains to keep the economy performing within “an appropriate range”, the National Bureau of Statistics spokesman Fu Linghui said in a briefing on Monday.

Recent outbreaks and complex global situations hurt employment, industrial output, and consumption while stoking inflation, imposing “significant challenges” to the economy, Fu noted.

Both monetary and fiscal policies have front-loaded expansionary measures to shore up the economy, said Fu. Consumption is expected to return after the pandemic as the employment market recovers, while the launch of large infrastructure projects could spur investment. Exports will remain robust due to increasing external demand, particularly from countries involved in the One Belt One Road Initiative, he said.