Much has been said about China's rescue package but we should not expect it will make that big a difference. The reality is that China is doing it hard and, despite its size, it has limited resources.

Australian economist Saul Eslake puts it in context. As he says, it tells us three things about China. First, they are doing it hard, secondly that they are prepared to do whatever it takes to put some control on their growth rate and prevent the social unrest that might come from sharply rising unemployment among the millions of people. And finally, it remains despite its rapid growth a poor country.

"The stimulus package also reminds us that the Chinese authorities aren't above using a few of the "tricks" used by governments which have to face the judgement of an electorate from time to time, such as "repackaging" measures which have been announced before, and rolling up spending which will take place over a number of years and inviting comparisons of the total with a single year's GDP. Some estimates suggest that of the 4 trillion yuan of spending contained in this weeks package, "only" 500 billion represents new spending."