China: Time to begin mulling stimulus exit steps

Published: 24 Sep 2009 17:52:25 PST

PITTSBURGH, Sept 24 - China said on Thursday it was time for the world's economies to begin considering exit strategies from stimulus policies that have shored up economic activity during the global downturn.

Ma Xin, director-general for international cooperation in the National Development and Reform Commission, which steers Chinese economic policy, stopped short of saying that China's own stimulus policies were up for reconsideration.

But Ma told a news conference that the across-the-globe stimulus policies risked eventually stoking inflation and weakening currenies.

"My position is that we must now start to prepare for an exit from these policies," he told a news conference in Pittsburgh, which is hosting the latest G20 summit of major rich and developing economies.