BEIJING (Reuters) – The People’s Bank of China does not need to step up its policy easing as an economic recovery is well under way and further stimulus could stoke property and stock bubbles, central bank policy adviser Ma Jun said in remarks published on Wednesday.
China’s economy could grow more than 4% in the third quarter and over 6% in the fourth quarter, bringing the 2020 growth to around 2%, Ma was quoted by Sina Finance as saying.
“At present, the strength of counter-cyclical adjustment of monetary policy is not small. We should maintain the current strength, and there is no need to step up,” Ma said.
“If we boost stimulus, there could be some negative consequences, such as real estate and stock market bubbles.”
The central bank should reserve some ammunition to cope with impacts from rising tensions with the United States and possible financial risks, Ma said.
A stronger-than-expected rebound in activity in the second quarter has reduced the urgency for the PBOC to ease policy further, but will keep conditions accommodative to support the recovery, sources have told Reuters.
The PBOC has rolled out a raft of steps since February, including cuts in lending rates, banks’ reserve requirement ratios (RRR) and targeted support for virus-hit companies such as cheap loans.
(Reporting by Stella Qiu and Kevin Yao; Editing by Kim Coghill & Simon Cameron-Moore)
