China economy: Beijing unveils detailed stimulus plan to offset coronavirus damage

China’s cabinet has published details of a support package to shore up economic growth, covering trade, tax, infrastructure and financial policies

Communication with foreign firms will be improved, some mobility restrictions will be cleared and job subsidies made available, among other measures

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China has released a new stimulus package to offset economic damage caused by fresh coronavirus outbreaks. Photo: AP

Published: 7:00pm, 31 May 2022

China has released further details of a stimulus package aimed at propping up the faltering economy, ranging from tax cuts to infrastructure spending to job subsidies.

The state council, China’s cabinet, unveiled a 33-point plan last week, covering fiscal and monetary policies, investment and consumption, food and energy security, supply chain stability and people’s livelihoods.

Various government departments published more detailed policies on Tuesday to meet the end-of-month deadline set by Premier Li Keqiang.

The State Council said separately local governments and agencies should “effectively stabilise the economy in the second quarter” and lay a “solid foundation” for the latter half of the year.

Economic activity should be maintained at a reasonable growth rate ahead of the party’s 20th congress, it said in a statement.

Getting the economy back on a growth trajectory was an urgent target for the second quarter, said Li, who chairs the council.

In an unusually candid speech last week, the premier admitted for the first time that China may miss the economic growth target of “around 5.5 per cent” that Beijing laid out earlier this year. However, he did not signal a change to the zero-Covid policy that has been so detrimental to the economy.