Equity rout hurts lending, scant relief for private firms

Policymakers are worrying about the widespread use in China of shares as collateral for lending – for good reason. But the remedies announced this week are unlikely to make much of a difference as long as share prices continue to fall. Meanwhile Xi Jinping’s trip to southern China has drawn inevitable comparisons with Deng Xiaoping’s tour a quarter of a century ago, a landmark moment in China’s transition to a market economy. But Xi, it is clear, has no inclination to emulate Deng’s liberalising reforms.