China turns to targeted stimulus to protect its growth goal

China has announced its biggest economic-support package since September 2024, but it is not opening the taps on broad government spending. Instead, it is lowering the cost of eligible first-home mortgages and using central-bank lending programs to steer cheaper credit toward infrastructure, technology upgrades, small businesses and private companies. The aim is to lift housing demand and investment enough to keep growth within the government’s 4.5%–5% target range as weak consumer demand and the property slump weigh on the economy. That makes this a carefully aimed effort to steady activity, rather than a reset of China’s economic strategy: it may help meet the year’s growth floor, but it is less likely to fix the deeper problem of households and businesses remaining reluctant to spend.