IN 1979, when Paul Volcker started jacking up interest rates to quell inflation in America, China launched a radical experiment of its own: it created commercial banks. Deng Xiaoping was trying to steer the country away from central planning. Four decades on, Mr Volcker's job long done, China's transition is still unfolding. For evidence of this, look at its interest-rate muddle amid the corona-virus-induced slowdown. Ask a Chinese economist what the benchmark rate is today-a simple question in most countries-and brace yourself for an avalanche of acronyms and numbers.
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