(Bloomberg) -- Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers hailed China’s new stimulus effort as a “really welcome development” for both his nation and the global economy after meetings with counterparts in Beijing during a two-day visit.
Chalmers said he had discussed China’s plans to boost its economy in his meetings with officials that included the chair of the National Development and Reform Commission Zheng Shanjie. The treasurer said weak demand in China was among factors weighing on Australia’s economy.
“Like a lot of people around the world we have been concerned about the softer conditions here in the Chinese economy,” Chalmers told reporters in Beijing on Friday. “Any efforts to boost growth and support activity here is a welcome one.”
The Australian treasurer’s visit, the first by an official of his level in seven years, came as China’s central bank cut a key short-term interest rate and the 24-man Politburo announced plans to ramp up fiscal spending in a bid to avoid missing economic growth targets.
“What happens here and what is decided here has big consequences for own economy, our own workers and businesses and investors, and for our country more broadly,” the treasurer said.
Beijing’s moves came in response to a three-year slump in the housing market and a weak recovery from the pandemic that have weighed on the world’s second-largest economy. That has significant fallout for Australia, given China is its largest trading partner.
Chalmers said the two countries had agreed to hold economic talks in 2025 in Australia. They also signed a memorandum of understanding to share economic policy knowledge and experience, according to a WeChat statement from China’s National Development and Reform Commission.
(Updates with further details. An earlier version of this story was corrected to fix a spelling error.)
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
