Lifting of economic controls mooted

Fearing its more stringent economic controls could actually precipitate a hard landing for China's booming economy, sources in Beijing said the central government would begin easing restrictions next month, the South China Morning Post reported. The announcement would be formally made at an economic planning conference in November, the paper said, suggesting the changes would be framed in the context of a macroeconomic adjustment and further signal the government's retreat from taking administrative actions that might otherwise be decided by market forces.