Beijing says cost-cutting key to growth

China’s State Council has again sought to prod the country’s bureaucracy into action to cut costs for business, listing priorities for every major ministry, the South China Morning Post reports. Most of the measures in a roughly 10,000-character document released on Monday were not new but the list underscores the urgency of the push as growth in the economy continues to slow. Beijing has made cost cutting a key policy goal to spur growth, with the finance ministry overhauling the tax system, the central bank reducing financing costs and the labour ministry lowering social pension payment obligations for business. China Minsheng Bank chief economist Wen Bin said that despite early signs of improvement in industrial profits for big firms, overall downward pressures ­persisted.