Array
Hong Kong, China — Hong Kong and Shanghai stocks rallied Tuesday after China pledged to adopt a looser monetary policy to revive the stuttering economy, while Seoul rebounded after days of losses fuelled by the brief declaration of martial law by South Korea’s president.
In the latest bid to kickstart growth, President Xi Jinping and other top leaders announced their first major shift in policy for more than a decade, saying they would “implement a more active fiscal policy and an appropriately relaxed” strategy.
The remarks, reported by state news agency Xinhua on Monday, represented a move away from their previous “prudent” approach, sparking hopes for more rate cuts and the freeing-up of more cash for lending.
The announcement comes as Beijing contemplates Donald Trump’s second term in the White House. The president-elect has indicated he will reignite his hardball trade policies, fuelling fears of another standoff between the superpowers.
Leaders have battled for almost two years to kickstart the world’s number two economy, which has been battered by weak domestic consumption and a debilitating property sector crisis.
“Beijing kept its stimulus measures very modest in 2024, because the goal was to stabilize the economy and rehabilitate confidence. And as a result, China reserved its firepower for an uncertain 2025,” Shehzad Qazi, managing director of consultancy China Beige Book, said in a commentary.
“Now, Beijing is almost singularly focused on protecting China from the onslaught of forthcoming Trump tariffs.
