As the annual meeting of China's parliament approaches next month, its leaders are facing the greatest pressure in almost a decade to take bold policy decisions that safeguard the economy's long-term growth potential, Reuters reported. The start of the year saw Chinese stocks tumbling to five-year lows on growth concerns and deflation deepening to levels unseen since the global financial crisis, prompting comparisons with the 2015 turmoil that forced policymakers into action.

Chinese banks have approved property development loans of $17.20 billion as part of a special mechanism to inject liquidity into the sector, but detailed statements show some loans to distressed developers are only adjustments of existing credit, Reuters reported.

China’s economic malaise has pushed policymakers and state-owned banks to attempt an escalating series of remedies. Their latest attempt: A surprisingly aggressive cut to a key lending rate, the Wall Street Journal reported. The People’s Bank of China said Tuesday that China’s major banks reduced the five-year loan prime rate, a benchmark for home loans, to a new low of 3.95%, from 4.2% previously. It was the largest cut since the rate was introduced five years ago, and a much bigger reduction than economists had expected.

China cut the benchmark reference rate for mortgages at a monthly fixing on Tuesday by more than expected, as authorities ramped up efforts to stimulate credit demand and revive the property market, Reuters reported. Commercial banks' improving net interest margins following recent deposit rate cuts and the reduction to bank reserves earlier this month has paved the way for lenders to reduce borrowing costs to support the economy. The five-year loan prime rate (LPR) was lowered by 25 basis points to 3.90% from 4.20% previously, while the one-year LPR was left unchanged at 3.45%.

China’s massive property market is crumbling. Xi Jinping wants to revive socialist ideas about housing and put the state back in charge, the Wall Street Journal reported. Home prices across China are falling, developers have gone bust and people are doubting whether real estate will ever be a viable investment again. The meltdown is dragging down growth and spooking investors worldwide. Under the new strategy, the Communist Party would take over a larger share of the market, which for years has been dominated by the private sector.

New bank loans in China jumped by more than expected to an all-time high in January, as the central bank moved to shore up the sputtering economy, reinforcing expectations for more stimulus in the coming months, Reuters reported. Policymakers have pledged to roll out further measures to support the weaker-than-expected post-COVID recovery in the world's second-largest economy, amid a deep property crisis and prolonged stock market rout.

China's central bank on Thursday said it would keep policy flexible and precise to boost domestic demand, while maintaining price stability, amid signs of a patchy economic recovery and rising deflationary risks, Reuters reported. In its quarterly policy implementation report, the People's Bank of China said the authorities face some difficulties and challenges in promoting an economic recovery amid global uncertainties. "Prudent monetary policy should be flexible, moderate, precise and effective...

Deflation is becoming more entrenched in China, with consumer prices falling in January at their steepest pace in more than 14 years—a stark symptom of deepening economic malaise that spells trouble for the global economy, the Wall Street Journal reported. The latest data suggest China faces a growing risk of slipping into a longer-term spell of falling prices that becomes harder to reverse the longer it lasts. That presents a special challenge for the rest of the world.

China has ousted the head of its securities watchdog, the official Xinhua news agency said, replacing him with a veteran regulator with a reputation for tough action as policymakers struggle to stabilise the country's stock markets, Reuters reported. The cabinet has replaced Yi Huiman as chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) with Wu Qing, who has led the Shanghai Stock Exchange and served as a key deputy in Shanghai's municipal government, Xinhua said on Wednesday.

Distressed Chinese developer Guangzhou R&F Properties plans to sell a property project in London by asking to receive some of its dollar bonds and just HK$1 (S$0.17) of cash, the Business Times reported. The defaulted builder signed a letter of intent to sell the holding company of Market Towers at 1 Nine Elms Lane, according to a filing late Tuesday (Feb 6) in Hong Kong. The mixed-used development is valued at £1.34 billion (S$2.27 billion) and includes 437 residential units and a hotel, it said.