Main financial newspapers splash six-month-old comments on the need to preserve jobs
A six-month-old speech by President Xi Jinping on the need to preserve jobs and shore up growth was splashed across China’s main financial newspapers on Monday, signalling greater urgency to bolster the economy after lockdowns brought Shanghai and other major cities to a halt.
While the speech was a reiteration of previously expressed policy, authorities chose to highlight them while concerns are rising that the world’s second-biggest economy is slowing sharply — and amid a debate over whether a split may have developed among China’s top leaders on how to respond. Data released on Monday underscored the damage caused by Covid-19 Zero to the economy, with industrial output and consumer spending sliding to the worst levels since the pandemic began and analysts warning of no quick recovery. Investors responded by selling everything from Chinese shares to US index futures and oil.