China's top leaders signaled little appetite for major stimulus in the second half of the year, with the world's second-largest economy still on track to meet a reduced annual growth target despite mounting domestic headwinds.
The ruling Communist Party's Politburo, China's top decision-making body, emphasized on Thursday the need to full use of existing policies, suggesting that no big-bang easing is in the pipeline.
Still, the leadership pledged to strengthen countercyclical adjustments and introduce pragmatic, effective additional policies when appropriate, according to an official readout published by state-run Xinhua News Agency. No timeline was given.
Officials at the quarterly meeting also vowed to accelerate fiscal spending and the use of bond proceeds, while stepping up efforts to expand domestic demand and optimize supply.
However, Thursday's statement included no changes to the fiscal budget or bond issuance schedule, said Zhiwei Zhang, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management.
