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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
George Magnus

China’s plan to boost flagging growth is the very definition of economic insanity

A cyclist passes an unfinished apartment block in Beijing.
A cyclist passes an unfinished apartment block in Beijing. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

China’s leaders seem to have invoked the definition of insanity, attributed, perhaps wrongly, to Einstein: doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results.

For the fourth time in 16 years, Beijing has been spooked by faltering growth into adopting an array of economic stimulus measures designed to reset the economy. It didn’t work for long in 2008, 2015 or 2021, and the “bazooka” measures announced recently will also most likely come up short.

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