‘Do whatever it takes’: Beijing urged to act as China’s economy falters

Attempts to boost flagging GDP growth hindered by Covid lockdowns, Ukraine war and Sino-US tensions

At a recent online gathering of top Chinese economists, a palpable sense of urgency filled the virtual meeting room. In recent weeks, a slew of reports by Chinese and foreign economists pointed to a deteriorating economy. Outside the country, talk of China being the engine of global economic growth no longer convinces.

During the meeting Huang Yiping, a Peking University professor and a former central bank adviser, urged Beijing to do whatever it takes to save the economy". Huang was paraphrasing a line from the height of the European debt crises more than a decade ago, when the European Central Bank's then president, Mario Draghi, said it was ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro".