I want to add to this conversation that overt fixation on deflation isn't really worthwhile. If the government wanted to solve the deflation problem, they could create more debt and use it to purchase some of the excess capacity until the price increases to the target level.
The government already has plenty of debt on a more local level. I doubt they want to “empty their magazines” on the deflation issue when there’s much bigger issues they might need that ammo for.
The deflation issue isn’t imminent or big yet. In my eyes, the Chinese government is responding proportionally to the size of the problem. Over
The more important metrics to look for would be credit growth/disposable income growth/consumption growth, which are all relatively healthy in China at the moment. Deflation is only bad if it impedes the growth of those other metrics (i.e. through a deflationary spiral)
see Chinese Credit impulse in May as an example:
That’s because you’re not thinking about the suppliers and business. Firms in China are squeezed from both directions. Labor supply is increasingly squeezed, workers are demanding higher wages which either raises labor costs to firms or requires great capital investment.
and from the other side, breakneck competition is forcing prices to be lower. Which in turn drives investment because scale becomes the only way to increase margin. This leads to higher debts… which is not a problem for a very healthy company like BYE. They thrive on this sort of thing. But it can absolutely raise costs for small business.
Now this is all fine, and in some ways it is a virtuous cycle. But at some point, prices will have to rise. There’s only so many cars people need to buy, so even if you keep scaling infinitely, you can’t sell an infinite inventory.
But all these scenarios are on a case by case basis for wach industry and company. Some industries are mature, some are not. Some markets are saturated, some are not. Which is probably why the government is slow or hesitant to make any kind of grand policy.