Measures to keep growth stable

The old mode of passively stimulating the economy when it is weak no longer applies. What we need is a stable policy that can guide long-term expectations and release economic potential against the pressure of the downturn. Lowering taxes, interest rates or banks' reserve requirement ratio is possible. Xu Nuojin, deputy-director of the Statistics and Analysis Department, People's Bank of China, people.com.cn, July 16

Eleven provinces or metropolises have announced measures to stabilize economic growth by early July and they feature additional investments. Too many investment programs might bring financial risks as well as raise the market interest rate by occupying the funds needed in other fields. The government needs to prevent the current micro-stimulus from growing into a big version.

Economic Information, July 16

Infrastructure investment remains an effective tool for stabilizing the economy. With realty and industrial investment declining, local governments are resorting to infrastructure construction once again - that's why so many new programs have emerged recently.

Peng Peng, Guangdong Comprehensive Institute of Reform and Development, CBN Weekly, July 16

China's economy is showing some trends: a relatively high and stable growth rate, low-profile inflation, the absence of mass unemployment, and local, instead of widespread, systemic risk. Besides, the government's policies include countercyclical adjustment with targeted, structural and limited measures every year. To avoid new risks, China needs to keep the current growth rate stabilized for at least two to three years and press ahead with reform.

LianPing, chief economist of the Bank of Communications, CBN Weekly, July 16

After 30 years of high-speed growth, it is natural that China's economic growth has slowed to somewhere between 7 and 8 percent. For the coming 10 to 20 years, China will assume the roles of being both the world's factory and the world's market, which means it is capable of maintaining that growth rate.

Fan Jianping, chief economist of the State Information Center, people.com.cn, July 16.

Changzhou Daily received wide criticism for a cover story that claimed "it is the best time to purchase houses as realty prices won't fall anymore"; such a "bailout" of the real estate market won't help sell the large quantities of houses already built. The incident shows how heavily dependent on selling land local governments are, something that needs changing through reform.

Yu Yanming, people.com.cn, July 15