China reveals major economic stimulus in response to potential US election results

Beijing, China - Top lawmakers in China on Monday gathered to design a major economic stimulus package that can be tailored differently to a Kamala Harris or Donald Trump victory in the 2024 election.

Lawmakers in Beijing are planning an economic stimulus that has been tailored to either candidate's victory in the US presidential election.
Lawmakers in Beijing are planning an economic stimulus that has been tailored to either candidate's victory in the US presidential election.  © AFP/Alexander Vilf

According to analysts cited in the AFP, if former-President Donald Trump were to triumph over Vice President Kamala Harris in Tuesday's election, Beijing's stimulus would grow significantly.

Over recent months, Beijing has continued to introduce economic stimulus measures including rate cuts and housing measures designed to improve economic growth.

It is expected that Beijing will announce the financial details of its economic stimulus measures on Friday, having tailored them to account for the result of Tuesday's US election.

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Former President Trump has said repeatedly that he would introduce a blanket 60% tariff on Chinese goods coming into the US, despite warnings that such a measure could have an impact on the cost of living.

As a result of the tariffs, economists believe that China's economic stimulus would be significantly higher if Trump were to win reelection.

"In our view, the size of China's fiscal stimulus package would be around 10-20% bigger under a Trump win than under the scenario of a Harris win," said Ting Lu, chief China economist at Nomura.

Nomura Holdings is a Japan-based financial holding company which specializes in banking and financial services, investment, and related services around the globe.

"We believe the US election results will have some impact on the size of Beijing's stimulus package," Lu said.

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Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has threatened to introduce a blanket 60% tariff on Chinese goods.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has threatened to introduce a blanket 60% tariff on Chinese goods.  © REUTERS

This view has been shared by a variety of economic analysts, including Zhu Bin of Nanhua Futures, who was cited by CNBC as saying that if Trump were to win, there would be no way around a bigger stimulus package.

"Without question we can be certain of one thing – if Trump wins the election, China’s domestic stimulus will only be larger, not smaller."

According to an analysis by Bloomberg columnist Shuli Ren, the US presidential election has forced Beijing's stimulus to move away from being focused entirely on domestic politics.

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The stimulus, thought to be worth more than $1 trillion, will instead be forced to pivot away from exclusively focusing on stabilizing property prices and shoring up banking capital, towards supporting manufacturing and introducing measures to counter tariffs.

"A Trump win can change Beijing’s priorities again," writes Shuli Ren. "His hawkish rhetoric on Chinese imports, as well as the wide latitude that the US president enjoys in setting and imposing tariffs, directly threatens Xi’s ultimate passion of transforming China into a high-end manufacturing powerhouse."

"Without a solid domestic economy and buoyant consumers flexing their muscles to multinationals, what leverage does [Xi Jinping] have? China’s president needs to stay focused on his internal affairs."

Cover photo: AFP/Alexander Vilf

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