BEIJING (Kyodo) -- A report has been submitted to the Chinese government urging it to launch a major stimulus package to boost the country's economy amid the global economic slowdown, state-run media reported Thursday.
An unnamed member of the State Council, or Cabinet, told the China Daily that his report suggests the government fund major infrastructure and clean-energy projects, give tax breaks to exporters and launch new job creation schemes.
No figures were given for the probable cost of the package.
"Major economic gauges indicate that we have entered into an excessive economic slowdown and need a radical stimulus package right now," the official told the China Daily, which like all areas of the Chinese media is tightly controlled by the government.
China's economic planners have reported that economic growth slowed to 9 percent in the third quarter, down from 10.1 percent and 10.6 percent in the second and first quarters respectively, with job losses reported among manufacturers hit by the fall in overseas demand for Chinese-made goods.
The China Business News also quoted an unnamed official in the transport ministry as saying this week that it is considering spending 5 trillion yuan ($732 billion) on infrastructure projects over the next three to five years to help boost the economy.
Zhu Hongren, an official at the industry ministry, also told state-run media Wednesday that the situation facing manufacturers in China is "grim" because of falling demand for goods abroad and that more investment and innovative products are needed.
