Key question asked over financial firepower

"They are mostly to steady the financial markets to anchor expectations and confidence," he said.

"Let us hope these short-term policies, such as cash handouts, can ease the short-term pain."

With China one of the first countries to emerge from the imposition of a lockdown, policymakers around the world are wondering what role the country's economy can play in any global recovery.

Whether the country can provide the sort of impetus it did after the global financial crisis remains to be seen.

Douglas McWilliams, deputy chairman and founder of the Centre for Economics and Business Research, a consultancy based in London, believes that China could have an even bigger impact than it did 12 years ago.

He said this is because the Chinese economy now comprises 17 percent of global GDP, compared with 10 percent in 2010.

"Even if China only grew at the same rate as the rest of the world, it would generate nearly one-fifth of global GDP growth. However, we expect China to grow on average rather faster than the rest of the world. So, generating at least a quarter of global GDP growth is highly likely," he said.

"China, this time round, will also be boosting global GDP by its contribution to world infrastructure investment, particularly through the Belt and Road Initiative."