State Council warns officials on blocking private investment

In a meeting chaired by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, the State Council said local officials would be held responsible for any failure to honor business contracts or ¬follow the central government’s lead on private investment. According to the South China Morning Post, the cabinet issued the warning as it called for stepped-up measures to spur private investment and pointed to a weakness in implementation at lower levels of government. Growth in overall investment began to deteriorate on the mainland in April, but private sector funds began to slow at the start of the year. Last month it rose 3.9%, compared with the 5.2% gain in the previous four months. More than 60% of overall investment comes via private capital, creating half of all new jobs each year.