At the IMF/World Bank spring meetings in Washington a week ago, downside risks to the Chinese economy were discussed solemnly, but calmly. There was no mood of crisis, no feeling that a major dislocation in the economy or the financial sector was imminent. Meanwhile, the surge in Chinese equity prices so far this year hardly seems to indicate an impending recession.
Yet there are signs of trouble ahead.
Real interest rates and the real exchange rate have both been rising at a time when the domestic credit market is under stress. Deflation has taken hold in the real estate sector and in the over-supplied heavy manufacturing sector, where much of the troubled debt is to be found. And the most recent quarter has seen GDP growth dipping to its lowest level since the global financial shock. It is becoming apparent that a much larger easing in policy might be needed to head off a hard landing. Fortunately, this is now clearly underway.