CX Daily: How Much Fiscal Stimulus Is Needed to Jumpstart China’s Economy?

TOP STORIES

Teachers?/

In Depth: Chinese teachers’ mental health crisis

A recent study, which surveyed more than 550,000 teachers from preschools, primary, secondary?and higher education institutions, found that between 2000 and 2022, 16.1% of Chinese teachers experienced mental health issues. If preschool teachers, who had a far lower rate, are excluded, the figure was 17.8%.

“While mental health has gained widespread attention globally in recent years, the mental well-being of teachers has not received the focus it deserves,” said the lead researcher of the study Yu Guoliang, a professor at Renmin University of China and director of its Institute of Psychology. ?

Obituary?/

Lee Wei Ling, daughter of Singapore’s founding prime minister, dies at 69

?(The Straits Times) — Dr Lee Wei Ling, the daughter of Singapore's founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, has died at the age of 69, four years after she was diagnosed with a rare, degenerative brain disease.

Her death was disclosed by her younger brother Lee Hsien Yang in a Facebook post at 5.50am on Oct. 9. ?

FINANCE & ECONOMY

Fiscal?/

Analysis: How much fiscal stimulus is needed to jumpstart China’s economy?

Economists have cautioned that monetary policy alone can’t lift China’s economy out of the doldrums and that fiscal stimulus is also needed.

A slew of monetary stimulus measures announced in September bolstered investor sentiment and rallied the stock market.

But the bullish mood was dented Tuesday when the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced few substantial new policies at a press briefing. The top economic planner mainly emphasized the need to effectively implement existing policies.

• Commentary: Where the money needs to go to spur on China’s growth

BRIEFING

China’s stimulus rally stumbles

A run-down of key developments in China over the past 24 hours:

Stocks retreat: Chinese equities got walloped (link in Chinese) Wednesday as the pullback from the China stimulus rally continued. On the Chinese mainland, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index shed more than 6%.

Stimulus news: China’s finance minister is scheduled to introduce fiscal measures (link in Chinese) Saturday, which market participants expect to give the economy a shot in the arm.?

Trade skirmishing: China has struck back against the EU’s decision to slap additional tariffs on imports of Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs) with its own levies on brandy (link in Chinese) produced in the bloc. The temporary additional levies will range from 30.6% to 39% and take effect on Friday.

Tech IPO: Smart driving startup Horizon Robotics has cleared the final hurdle to going public (link in Chinese). Hong Kong’s stock exchange announced Tuesday that Horizon passed its listing hearing, putting the Chinese company on the verge of an IPO.

Knife attack: Two elementary school students and one other person were injured Tuesday by a man wielding a knife (link in Chinese) in the southern city of Guangzhou. Police arrested a suspect at the scene, a 60-year-old man surnamed Zhao. Parents said the attack took place as students were returning to school after their lunch break.

Real estate: Hong Kong’s sluggish property market picked up (link in Chinese) in early October, reignited by the U.S. interest rate cut and China’s economic stimulus package that boosted the city’s stock market.?

Economy: Premier Li Qiang emphasized the need to swiftly implement a comprehensive package of policies to stabilize the economy (link in Chinese), as he met Tuesday with a group of economists and entrepreneurs that included representatives from the struggling real estate and venture capital industries.

Korean Peninsula: In a sign of escalating tensions, North Korea said it will sever road and rail links (link in Chinese) to its southern neighbor on Wednesday and fortify its side of the border in response to South Korean military exercises.

Holiday spending: Tax receipts showed average daily consumer spending during this year’s weeklong National Day holiday jumped 25.1% (link in Chinese) from the comparable period in 2023 in a sign of strength for consumption, whose sluggishness has been a major drag on China’s economic growth in recent years.

Official death: Wu Bangguo, who chaired the Standing Committee of China’s top legislature from 2008 to 2018, died Tuesday (link in Chinese) from an unspecified illness in Beijing at the age of 84. ?