As communist China turns 75, can Xi fix its economy?

As China prepared to celebrate its Golden Week holiday and mark the 75th anniversary of the People’s Republic, the ruling Communist Party rolled out a raft of measures aimed at boosting its ailing economy. The plans included help for the country's crisis-hit property industry, support for the stock market, cash handouts for the poor and more government spending.

Shares in mainland China and Hong Kong chalked up record gains after the announcements. But economists warn the policies may not be enough to fix China's economic problems. Some of the new measures announced by the People's Bank of China (PBOC) on 24 September took direct aim at the country's beaten-down stock market. The new tools included funding worth 800bn yuan ($114bn; £85.6bn) that can be borrowed by insurers, brokers and asset managers to buy shares.

PBOC governor, Pan Gongsheng, also said the central bank would offer support to listed companies that want to buy back their own shares and announced plans to lower borrowing costs, and allow banks to increase their lending. Just two days after the PBOC's announcement, President Xi Jinping chaired a surprise economy-focused meeting of the country's top leaders, known as the Politburo.

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