Caixin Interview: China’s Policymakers Can Learn From Japan’s Mistakes

Japan took many wrong turns as it tried to lift the economy out of stagnation and if China can avoid those mistakes, the country’s development path will benefit, Zhang tells Caixin

China is experiencing changes in household consumption patterns similar to those that happened in Japan as its population aged and the economy stagnated, and policymakers can learn lessons from the Japanese experience, according to Zhang Yingqiu, chief analyst of consumer discretionary with Nomura Orient International Securities Co. Ltd.

Japan’s economy stagnated in the 1990s after decades of rapid growth due to the bursting of bubbles in its stock and housing markets and a subsequent debt crisis. It failed to recover from the slowdown, which led to deflation that persisted for years.