Policy battle rages in China as slowdown feeds 'sense of crisis'

China's Caixin Magazine reports that there is a growing "sense of crisis" not felt since the depths of the global banking crash in 2008-2009. The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) has assembled a team to "protect economic growth" and pressure state companies to boost jobs at all costs. ... China's authorities have been trying to stop property speculation with loan curbs but it is proving hard to pop the housing boom without popping the economy itself. New so China's growth task-force comes amid reports that SASAC has ordered state firms to go for expansion and disregard other objectives such as investing in new technology. ... Pressure is building for yet another burst of easy credit, even though the "economic efficiency" of debt is collapsing. The output gained from each extra yuan of credit has fallen from a ratio of 0.8 to 0.35 since 2008, a warning sign that the cycle has played out.