In the end, it was the reform that wasn’t. Last weekend, China’s central bank abolished the lower limit on interest rates that banks can charge borrowers. It was meant to be a step along the road from centrally commanded to market-driven rates. But the step is so small – and so irrelevant to what is going on in the market – that it is expected to have no impact whatsoever. The very best that can be said about the reform is that it kept the idea of reform alive.
最終,中國(guó)實(shí)施了算不上改革的改革。上周,中國(guó)央行取消了銀行貸款利率下限。這是在利率從中央管制過(guò)渡到市場(chǎng)驅(qū)動(dòng)的道路上邁出的一步。但這一步邁得如此之小——如此落后于市場(chǎng)現(xiàn)狀,可以預(yù)期幾乎不會(huì)產(chǎn)生任何影響。如果要稱贊這項(xiàng)改革,我們最多可以說(shuō),它維持了改革觀念的生命。