China Refocuses Economy

By: Nathan Rutz

According to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, China is rebalancing its economy to focus on its domestic consumption in order to reach its growth target. In the Boao Forum for Asia, many prominent leaders in politics, business, and academia gathered and discussed Asia’s future, influence, and, specifically Asia’s response to the global economic. The Premier has been working towards helping China’s neighbors who have been hard hit by the crisis gain more confidence. The foreign dignitaries that attended this year included the Premier of Vietnam and President George W. Bush. Premier Jiabao announced a $10 billion stimulus program that, as he told the delegates in attendance, was “already paying off.” However, the Premier warned of challenges that remained saying, “The main ones are: external demand continues to shrink, there has been a large drop in exports… there is overcapacity in some industries is sluggish, economic efficiency continues to drop.” The Forum has been in existence since the late 1990s and serves as an indication of China’s increased involvement as a regional leader in this crisis.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8006029.stm