China's government is engaged in the economic equivalent of holding its nose and swallowing nasty medicine, dosing up on investment spending, local government debt and real estate sales to push up growth. Eight months of policy fine-tuning have yet to arrest an economic chill lasting six successive quarters and at risk of infecting a seventh, forcing Beijing to opt for near term expedients to boost growth ahead of a once-a-decade leadership transition later this year. It's not easy for a government sensitive to the social impact of inflation and speculation set off by its last investment binge in 2009-10, which ... (full story)