China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said that Beijing would intensify its efforts to attract foreign investment and improve consumption among low- and medium-income groups.
The world’s second-largest economy is struggling for a strong post-COVID-19 recovery, with housing market distress, local government debt risks, slowing global growth, and geopolitical tensions weakening consumer and investor confidence.
“Stronger foreign investment policies will be implemented, and we will continue to expand domestic demand,” NDRC spokesperson Li Chao said, responding to a question about how the powerful government body plans to attract more much-needed new capital.
“A series of policy support measures since June have proved modestly useful, increasing pressure on the authorities to introduce further stimulus. We will accelerate the implementation of projects that enable the issuance of an additional 1 trillion yuan of government bonds,” Li Chao said.
“China had approved 130 fixed asset investment projects with a total value of 1.08 trillion yuan ($148.8 billion) during the period from January to October, four of which were approved last month with a value of 5.6 billion yuan,” Li Chao added.
On the other hand, official data showed that sales of yuan-denominated “panda” bonds by foreign exporters in China more than doubled in October compared to a year ago, leading to a continuing debt boom across borders backed by relatively low Chinese interest rates and yuan trading prices in Beijing.
The issuance of “panda” bonds totaled 10.3 billion yuan ($1.42 billion) last month, compared with 4.5 billion yuan the previous year, according to Shanghai Clearing House data. In the first 10 months, “panda” bond sales amounted to 125.5 billion yuan, exceeding last year’s total of 80.5 billion yuan, paving the way for a record year of issuance.