"Liang has presented her views to the State Council, which is headed by Premier Li Keqiang. He appears to share her concerns. Over the past year he’s stepped up efforts to put 'sleeping' government funds to work instead of letting them stay salted away in banks at low interest rates.
"To make her case that the government is oversaving, Liang cites a rarely noted statistic. According to the People’s Bank of China, public institutions had 21 trillion yuan ($3.3 trillion) in bank deposits as of September. Those deposits have doubled since 2011 and equal 32 percent of gross domestic product.
"Some aspects of the deposit bulge remain mysterious, including exactly who’s saving. The deposit totals don’t include savings by state-owned enterprises.
"Liang estimates that the government’s total annual take in taxes, fees, and fund contributions is 37 percent of GDP, which is as big as the take in developed nations that pay out more in benefits. 'China has high taxes but low welfare,' she wrote in August.
Note:
(a) summary underneath the title in print: China’s public institutions stuff their cash in banks
(b) "Liang [Hong] 梁红 in a September interview in her office at the Beijing headquarters of China International Capital [Corp, Ltd] (CICC) 中国国际金融有限公司 [founded in 1995; shareholders include private and public (SOE) sectors], an investment bank where she serves as chief economist"