China to cut taxes, keep currency stable to counter slowdown

BEIJING – Senior Chinese economic officials say they will slash taxes, step up spending and help resolve financing problems of private and small enterprise to help counter the country’s worst slowdown since the global financial crisis.

The officials said Tuesday that Beijing will keep its monetary policy stable but flexible. A deputy central bank governor, Zhu Hexin, said the People’s Bank of China was confident it can keep the value of the Chinese yuan steady.

The officials were outlining plans for 2019 that were set at an annual policy meeting in December.

In July-September, China’s economic growth sank to a post-crisis low of 6.5 per cent compared with a year earlier despite government efforts to stem the downturn by ordering banks to lend more and by boosting spending on public works construction.