(来源：http://www.EnglishCN.com)

China authorises Rmb4,000bn rise in infrastructure spending
By Geoff Dyer in Beijing 2008-11-10

China yesterday announced a “massive infrastructure spending programme” as part of a new fiscal stimulus plan aimed at boosting the country's rapidly slowing economy.

The State Council, China's cabinet, authorised Rmb4,000bn ($586bn) of investment on infrastructure and social welfare over the next two years, although it did not say how much of the spending would be on new projects not already in the budget.

The government said the spending plan reflected a decision to adopt an “active” fiscal policy to deal with the global financial crisis, while monetary policy would be “moderately active”.

The announcement reflects mounting anxiety in Beijing that China's economy is cooling much more quickly than was initially expected in the face of weaker international demand and a slowdown in the local property market.

Two recent surveys of manufacturers showed a slump in activity in October, confirming anecdotal evidence that the slowdown has accelerated in recent weeks. Some economists believe that growth, which was nearly 12 per cent last year, could fall to as low as 6 per cent next year without a substantial fiscal stimulus.

Beijing has also been under growing international pressure to take fiscal measures to boost its economy in the hope that continued strong growth can provide some counter-balance to recession in the developed world.

The government has already cut interest rates three times, scrapped quotas for bank lending and unveiled measures to help housebuyers and some exporters. However, economists said those measures had not been enough to overcome growing gloominesss among companies and consumers.

According to the official Xinhua news agency, the State Council yesterday decided to “map out more forceful measures to expand domestic demand”, which would include “massive” infrastructure spending.

The investments will focus on low-income housing, water, electricity, disaster relief and transport, with railways expected to see a big increase. Spending in the fourth quarter of this year would be boosted by Rmb120bn beyond what was planned.

The government said it would introduce a long-awaited reform of value added tax which would cut costs for Chinese companies by Rmb120bn, Xinhua said.

中国昨日宣布大规模基础设施支出计划，作为新的财政刺激计划的一部分，旨在提振该国正在快速减缓的经济。

中国国务院批准了未来两年在基础设施和社会福利方面投资4万亿元人民币（合5860亿美元）的支出计划，尽管其没有表示，有多少投资属于预算外的新项目。

中国政府表示，该支出计划反映了政府决定采取“积极”财政政策和“适度宽松”货币政策来应对全球金融危机。


 这一宣布反映出北京不断加深的焦虑：即面对国际需求更加疲弱和国内房地产市场减缓的局面，中国经济的冷却速度远远高于最初预期。

近期对10月份制造业的两项调查也显示出经济活动的急剧下降，证实了最近几周经济放缓加速的非正式迹象。一些经济学家相信，如果没有足够力度的财政刺激计划，明年经济增长可能下降至6%。去年经济增长接近12%。

北京还受到不断增长的国际压力，他们要求中国出台财政措施提振经济，寄望中国经济持续强劲的增长能在一定程度上弥补发达国家的衰退。

中国政府已三次降息，取消银行信贷配额限制，并宣布了有利于购房者和一些出口商的措施。然而，经济学家称，这些措施不足以打消企业和消费者日益增长的担忧。

根据官方新华社报道，昨日国务院决定“出台更加有力的扩大国内需求措施”，包括大规模基础设施支出。

这些投资的重点是针对低收入人群的住房建设、水电建设、灾后重建和交通运输建设，预计铁路投资将大幅增加。今年第四季度支出将在计划外增加1200亿元人民币。

新华社报道称，中国政府表示，将实施人们期待已久的增值税改革，这将为中国企业减轻1200亿元成本负担。