Beijing not opening spending tap just yet

Big issue: People walking on an overpass near a residential development in Shanghai. Stress in the property market is curbing land sales – a key source of income for local governments. — Bloomberg

BEIJING: China’s economic slowdown is putting the spotlight back on fiscal stimulus – but Beijing isn’t opening the spending taps just yet.

While the US government is pushing to raise its debt ceiling and countries elsewhere keep fiscal policy loose to support their pandemic-hit economies, China could be on track for a much smaller budget deficit than targeted, or even its first balanced budget in about four decades.