China pumps 500 billions Yuan into ailing state owned banks

 

 This week's China Up Close focuses on Beijing's plan to inject public funds worth 500 billion yuan ($68.9 billion) into ailing state-owned banks. It echoes the 270 billion yuan in support China gave to banks in 1998, the year after the Asian financial crisis erupted.
 
The administration of President Xi Jinping decided on the plan -- albeit quietly -- at the National People's Congress (NPC), China's parliament, which closed on Tuesday. Although the scale is nearly double from 27 years ago, the current scheme may not be enough considering that China's economy has expanded 20-fold since then.
 
In March 1998, then-Premier Zhu Rongji spoke at a press conference after that year's NPC, where he stressed his resolve to reform some 300,000 state-owned enterprises -- a prelude to the injection of public funds into banks. It is a pity that the current incumbent, Li Qiang, did not have the chance to address the financial system's dire situation, as the premier's customary post-NPC press conferences were scrapped last year. Without Li's own words, it is difficult to share the sense of crisis he feels over the ailing economy.