China takes lessons from Japan's economic woes

Shanghai

CHINESE regulators are turning to Japan for lessons on economic history, determined to keep the world's second biggest economy from taking the same path of recession and deflation that has blighted its neighbour for the past 20 years.

Beijing views Tokyo's handling of the liberalisation of capital flows and the yen over 30 years ago as key factors that led to the creation and subsequent bust of the asset bubble in Japan in the early 1990s, according to Japanese government and other sources who are in direct contact with Chinese regulators.

"They aren't a single bit interested in Japan's successes. Their biggest interest is in Japan's mistakes," one China-based source who is directly in touch with Chinese regulators told Reuters on …