Spend more on social causes, says ADB official

China should spend more on social causes and less on infrastructure if it plans to introduce another fiscal stimulus package to spur the economy, a senior Asian Development Bank (ADB) official suggested yesterday.

"The (Chinese) government should focus more on spending that will benefit the low-income families and less on infrastructure if there is another large fiscal stimulus package," said Lawrence Greenwood, vice-president, ADB.

Social spending, Greenwood said, would have a long-term impact in terms of stimulating domestic consumption as it will reduce people's precautionary savings on items such as education and medical care.