Check investment boom

Accelerated investment growth is what Chinese policymakers least want now. As the government tries very hard to prevent the national economy from overheating, such a pick-up in investment will only complicate the task of macroeconomic control.

If growth of capital spending is to be effectively slowed, policymakers should not only raise the cost of borrowing but also implement stringent environmental and energy efficiency standards.

Latest statistics show that China's investment in construction, factory and other urban fixed assets rose 26.9 percent to 8.9 trillion yuan ($1.2 trillion) in the first 10 months. The increase was 0.1 percent higher than the growth rate in the same period last year and 0.5 percent higher than the January-September figure.