INFLUENTIAL regional cadres and economists have lobbied the Chinese Government against using ''indiscriminate'' fiats to restrain local growth.
Sources in Beijing said the 10 investigation teams sent by Beijing to 20 provinces and centrally administered cities had encountered resistance in their attempts to re-impose ''macro-level control''.
In a dispatch last night, the state-run China News Service quoted ''economic experts'' as warning that austerity measures must be designed and implemented ''bearing in mind local characteristics''.
''The speed [of the rectification measures] must be harmonious and the degree of severity must be adequate'', the agency reported, adding that there was no one policy that could fit all areas.
The news service, which is noted for its liberal views, seemed to be putting in a word for the rich provinces.
''The rate of industrial growth in some prosperous areas along the coast is over 50 or 60 per cent,'' it said.
''Yet their products are selling well and they have high productivity. Do you call theirs an overheated economy?'' On the other hand, while some poor regions might have growth rates of less than 10 per cent, the fact that local factories had difficulty getting rid of their products might mean a curb needed to be put on their economies, it added.