Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, paved the way for a fresh round of pro-growth policies at the weekend, triggering a surge in Asian and commodity markets that were anticipating a burst of stimulus measures in the world’s second-largest -economy.
But economists cautioned yesterday that Mr Wen’s comments should not be taken as a sign Beijing was preparing the same sort of big bang package it rolled out after the 2008 financial crisis. They say any stimulus was likely to be incremental and cautious.
Concerns over China’s slowing economy have weighed on global equities and commodities, but Mr Wen’s comments were the clearest indication yet that Beijing planned to take policy action to stimulate growth.