Downward pressure burdens Chinese economy

State council inspection

To make sure that the central government polices are taking effect, the State Council sent a total of eight inspection groups to 27 ministerial departments and 16 provinces and municipalities.

The inspection was the first of its kind since the incumbent central government took office last year. Whether local governments did well in stabilizing growth is high on the inspection list.

Before the inspection, Premier Li Keqiang convened eight governors and mayors in Beijing last month to discuss the current economic situation.

"The downward pressure is still considerable. We should not ignore the challenges and risks," said Li at the meeting.

"I took his remarks as criticism," said Heilongjiang Governor Lu Hao.

Actions under way

Stimulus seems to have become a taboo in China in the past few months. Government officials were very careful about the word and academic circles liked to argue whether a new policy was a stimulus measure or not.

The reason lies partly in the fact that a four-trillion-yuan ($645.2 billion) stimulus package issued after the 2008 financial crisis fueled overcapacity despite buoying growth.

But this time, the actions are aimed at more than short-term growth.

To replace the high-polluting old growth model, Hebei rolled out a set of preferential policies, including more land supply, streamlined approval procedures and tax cuts, to nurture strategic emerging industries such as new energy business.

Heilongjiang released similar measures to support the development of the service sector in order to reduce reliance on the energy industry.

"Local government should step up pro-growth efforts and strive to accomplish this year's target and lay a solid foundation for the years to come," said Yang.

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