Credit growth in China is slowing gradually as policymakers seek to navigate the world’s most prominent recovery from the pandemic without fuelling unsustainable indebtedness.
China this week kept its benchmark lending rate unchanged for the 12th month in a row, but other indicators show that Beijing, which exercises greater control over its state-dominated banking system than most major economies, is using other policies in a bid to dampen down the risk of overheating in its unbalanced, industry-heavy recovery.
Total social financing, the country’s main gauge of credit growth which measures lending across the domestic financial system, rose by 12 per cent year-on-year in March, its slowest pace since April last year, according to official data released this month.