September 7, 2012 Beijing Plans Infrastructure Binge By AARON BACK BEIJING—China approved an estimated $156 billion in new subways, highways and other infrastructure projects in recent days, giving markets a boost on Friday, even as economists are increasingly fretting that the country is behind the curve in responding to the economic slowdown. A subway In Xi'an City, China, is set to be running by September 2013. The spending plans send a signal that the Chinese government has belatedly heeded risks from a slowing economy and has become increasingly open to stimulus, economists said. China's central government finally took real actions to arrest the worsening slowdown," Bank of America Merrill Lynch economist Lu Ting said in a note, but he added that the new plans come too late to arrest a further slowdown in the third quarter. Saturday morning, President Hu Jintao addressed the need to upgrade infrastructure to promote stable growth and recovery and warned that the "underlying impact of the financial crisis is far from over." Page I 1 of 3 EFTA01087841