China says will issue special bonds to boost ailing economy [Video]

China said Saturday it will issue special bonds to help its sputtering economy and that it had $325 billion in funds raised that it can deploy in the next three months to shore up the property market, ease local debt and bolster banks.

The measures, announced at a highly anticipated press conference by Finance Minister Lan Fo’an and other officials, came on top of a series of steps announced over the last weeks that have included interest rate cuts and liquidity for banks.

China’s economy has been blighted by a years-long property sector crisis and chronically low consumption. Officials are hoping to reverse the slowdown and achieve a growth target of five percent this year — enviable for many Western countries but a far cry from the double-digit expansion that for years boosted China.

On Saturday, Minister Lan said Beijing was “accelerating the use of additional treasury bonds, and ultra-long-term …