Chinese officials and economists at World Economic Forum try to restore confidence in mainland’s economy
As the World Economic Forum meeting began in China on Wednesday, mainland government officials and economists were quick to try restore global confidence in the world’s second-largest economy – days after the release of dismal economic data.
Xu Shaoshi, head of the National Development and Reform Commission, repeated the official line about the economy on the sidelines of the forum’s meeting in Dalian, in northeast China's Liaoning province.
He said that the mainland’s economic fundamentals were good and the economy remained within reasonable range, while jobs and prices were very stable.
His comment came in the wake of poor trade data for August and the record monthly fall of foreign exchange reserves last month amid concerns about staggering economy and capital outflows.
“It is normal to see volatility of economic indicators,” Xu said. “Expectations and confidence must be held firmly. We are able to hit this year’s growth target.”
His remarks echoed the comments of Liu He, the commission’s deputy director and a key policy adviser to President Xi Jinping, who said during a meeting in Zhejiang province that reforms in state firms, finance and fiscal sectors were the key to weathering hard times.