Chinese economic and financial officials responded to worries about bad debt, ‘zombie companies’ and currency depreciation over the weekend, insisting that doomsayers were underestimating the economy’s resilience and the government’s ability to balance growth with reform.
Volatility in the currency and stock markets has reverberated around global markets, largely because they’re thought to be the symptom of deeper problems in the economy. Chinese officials used tightly controlled press appearances on the sidelines of the annual rubber-stamp parliament to try to restore confidence after their reputation for policy competence has been bruised.
Central bank chief Zhou Xiaochuan — whose three major press appearances in the last month count as a charm offensive by the standards of his normally tight-lipped institution — appeared relaxed amid signs that markets have settled after turmoil in stocks and currencies.
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Craig Erlam
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