From Caijing Magazine:
Eight economists were invited by Premier Wen Jiabao and the State Council to a closed-door meeting between July 8 and 11 on China’s macroeconomic conditions and employment outlook. Cai Fang, director for the Institute of Population and Labor Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, revealed to Caijing his message to China’s decision makers.
Rising Unemployment
CJ: Please tell us what you and the other economists said at the meeting.
Cai: The discussion focused on current economic conditions. We talked about whether economic growth will slow, how to contain inflation and stimulate growth, and whether China should maintain its tight monetary policy.
Economists are split on the two major macro tasks: fighting inflation and stimulating growth. However, we generally agreed that monetary policy should remain as it is. We should neither loosen it nor tighten it further.
One thing that concerns officials at the State Council is how much the slowdown of GDP growth will hurt employment. Should we retain growth momentum to ensure high employment rates? I mainly talked about this issue.
