MNI POLICY: China Can Adopt Higher Deficits for Recovery: Spox

By Wanxia Lin

     BEIJING (MNI) - China has room for an "appropriate increase" in its

deficits and will introduce stronger policies to minimize the impact of the

coronavirus outbreak, said Mao Shengyong, a spokesman of the National Bureau of

Statistics said Monday. 

     "The overall Chinese government debt level is relatively low, and

especially, some debt assets have good profitability," Mao added. China's budget

deficit ratio was set at 2.8% in March last year.

     China will continue to make proactive fiscal policy more "flexible" and

further promote tax and fee reductions for business, according to Mao.

     Here are other key points Mao made as the stats bureau unveiled record

plunges in economic indicators in the first two months of the year:

     - The policy effects will continue to appear in the second half of the

year, especially after the introduction of stronger hedging policies, and there

will be a steady growth throughout the year.

     - China will promote the expansions of consumption and investment

simultaneously.

     - The higher unemployment rate as of February was mainly due to the

shrinking labor demand from companies affected by the coronavirus. The situation

is seen as short-term and will improve as the economy normalizes.

--MNI Beijing Bureau; +86 (10) 8532-5998; email: wanxia.lin@marketnews.com

--MNI Beijing Bureau; +86 10 8532 5998; email: william.bi@mni-news.com

--MNI London Bureau; tel: +44 203-586-2225; email: les.commons@marketnews.com

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