Beijing support emboldens critics among businessmen

Beijing

PRIVATE entrepreneurs in China are voicing unprecedented criticism of government, encouraged by policies and rhetoric from Beijing emphasising support for the most productive sectors of the economy.

In the past two weeks, Premier Li Keqiang has exhorted Chinese banks to cut their fees and increase loans to small businesses, while the central People's Bank of China (PBOC) freed up more than 1.3 trillion yuan (S$281 billion) of extra liquidity for lending by cutting the amounts banks must keep in reserve.