The Chinese stimulus package: Is it starting to work?

FRONT PAGE: "China Turns A Corner As Spending Takes Hold," by Andrew Batson, Wall Street Journal, 11-12 April 2009.

China's $585B is second only to the U.S.'s roughly $800B.

In China, demand is picking up in key places as a result of the splurge: oil and steel. Banks are lending and stocks are rising.

This is crucial stuff:

The signs augur well for the global economy. China has been one of the world's most voracious consumers of raw materials. While its aggressive spending plan reflects the power of its state-dominated economy, there are signs that its thrifty consumers are starting to spend more.

"State-dominated" is a bit misleading. I would go with "State-directed," but China's government directly controls only about 30% of the GDP--not that much higher than the U.S. thanks to our massive USG spending habit.

But the big thing here: optimism is spreading across the Chinese economy as indicated by these numbers.