China says it's not afraid of a trade war with the US — its actions show otherwise (中國說不怕貿易戰,但它的實際行動表現卻是恰恰相反).
The decision by China's central bank to cut the amount of reserves held by banks is an indication that authorities in the world's second-largest economy are getting nervous about a long-drawn trade war with the U.S., experts said.
China insisted last month, in a 71-page paper, that its economy is "highly resilient" and Beijing is not afraid of a trade war.
At the World Economic Forum in Tianjin, China in September, an official from the country's securities regulator said there was nothing President Donald Trump's administration could do to make a significant dent in the Chinese economy. Fang Xinghai, vice chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, said that the worst that could happen is the U.S. imposing levies on all Chinese imports, but that would only hit 0.7 percentage points of China's growth. (就算美國對中國全面加稅,也只影響中國成長率區區0.7%)
But the central bank's move to ease some pressure on the banking sector signals that the situation in China is perhaps not all rosy, experts noted.
"China is probably facing its worst period since the global financial crisis. All news is against it," Fraser Howie, an independent analyst who has written books about China and its financial system, told CNBC's "The Rundown" on Monday.
"They certainly want to play down any talks of panic or near panic ... but they're clear it's not business as usual in China," he added.
The People's Bank of China announced on Sunday a 100 basis points cut to the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) for most banks, which will result in an injection of 750 billion yuan ($109.2 billion) in cash into the banking system. But the central bank maintained that its monetary policy is still prudent and neutral — not accommodative.
A neutral monetary policy means the central bank is neither trying to slow nor stimulate the economy. When policy is said to be accommodative, it means the central bank is making it cheaper for businesses and households to borrow in hopes that they will increase spending and lift the economy. ===================================================================== 中國說不怕貿易戰,就算是美國隊中國所有出口加稅,也僅僅只影響0.7% 成長率而已.