On October 26, Bloomberg reported on a Morgan Stanley study saying that the Chinese stock market may not have bottomed out yet, and that offshore Chinese stocks could fall another 10%–15% before approaching historically low valuations, with weak economic consumption, pressure on e-commerce, and fears of tax-triggered selling of trusts intensifying the adjustment.
Bloomberg reported on October 25 that China's stock market has shrunk by about $3.5 trillion from its high earlier this year in May, with the CSI 300 index falling into a bear market the previous week, as weak consumption and price wars squeeze corporate profits.
On October 13, the IMF released its latest World Economic Outlook, raising Taiwan's 2026 growth forecast from 5.2% in April to 10.7%, while lowering the mainland's forecast by 0.1 percentage points to 4.5%; Taiwan's growth is mainly driven by demand for AI and advanced chips.
According to a report by the Financial Times, China's economic growth in the second quarter fell to 4.3%, below the full-year target range of 4.5% to 5%. Retail sales and fixed-asset investment were weak, and the property market has been in a downturn for more than five years.
Srinivasan, head of the International Monetary Fund's Asia Department, noted that China's growth model of relying on investment, manufacturing and exports is approaching its limits, and suggested improving the social security system, adjusting local government incentives and the land-finance model, warning that otherwise the country could fall into a prolonged slowdown.
Research by the Conference Board shows that interest payments on the debt of China's central and local governments are expected to reach 1.4 trillion yuan in 2026, far exceeding the roughly 348 billion yuan in 2014; central government debt service is projected to rise to 19.2% of the general public budget.
On October 8, The Wall Street Journal reported that, facing difficulties such as the real estate downturn, insufficient domestic demand, and second-quarter GDP growth slowing to 4.3%, the stimulus measures introduced by the Chinese government — including mortgage subsidies and capital injections into banks — lean toward caution and are unlikely to fundamentally reverse the economic weakness.
On September 30, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) published a new book, "Toward a New Growth Model for the Chinese Economy," on its official website, pointing out that linking local officials' performance evaluation to GDP targets has led to infrastructure expansion, land-sale financing, and the accumulation of local government financing vehicle (LGFV) debt. LGFV cash flows can cover only about one-quarter to one-third of interest payments. The book recommends improving social security, advancing household registration (hukou) reform, and increasing the progressivity of the tax system.
The fiscal interest subsidy policy was officially announced on September 29 and went into effect at the start of the National Day holiday; combined with developer discounts, it drove up new home transaction volumes in some key cities.
An X account named “所谓伊人在水一方” uploaded a video of a female teacher talking about student safety, in which she reminds high school students to guard against strangers, vehicles, and the risk of losing contact.
The video's author lists indicators from the first half of the year — contracting consumption, high-ranking officials falling from power, declines in fiscal revenue and household savings, and rising unemployment and credit defaults — claiming all have set historical records; no unified source can be found for any of the data.
In a conversation, Morgan Stanley's Chief Economist for China, Xing Ziqiang, pointed out that China's social security expenditure accounts for only about 8% of GDP, far below the OECD average of 25% and the levels of developing countries with similar per capita GDP, and also mentioned group disparities in the enjoyment of public services.
On September 19, Huang Yiping, a member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the People's Bank of China, stated at the Beijing Economic Forum that artificial intelligence may exacerbate the contradiction between China's overcapacity and insufficient household purchasing power. He pointed out that distribution leaning toward capital leads to weak demand, and suggested increasing the proportion of household income through market-oriented reforms, while the central government borrows to repair the balance sheets of local governments and enterprises.
At the Tsinghua Wudaokou Chief Economists Forum, four scholars—Lin Yifu, Yu Yongding, Yao Yang, and Li Xunlei—concentrated their efforts to call on the central government to adopt expansionary fiscal policies and bail out local government debt.
On September 15, The Wall Street Journal published an article pointing out that while China can avoid a sudden financial crisis through its state-controlled financial system, the losses from real estate and bank bad loans will not disappear. Economist Michael Pettis believes that the losses will be borne by ordinary residents in the long run through low deposit returns and shrinking asset values, rather than manifesting in public forms such as bank failures.