News Analysis Even after reporting (some would say dubiously) strong 8.1 percent growth for 2021, Beijing knows that after last year’s power shortages and new waves of COVID-19, it will have to work hard to get even the minimum targeted 5 percent real growth in 2022. America’s movement toward monetary restraint will make the effort that much more difficult. Perhaps an even greater impediment is the lingering effects of Evergrande’s failure as well as a more general debt overhang. These burdens will make local governments reluctant to follow along with Beijing’s stimulus measures. No doubt Beijing’s power and perhaps some statistical legerdemain will enable China to declare success a year from now, but the growth reality will not come easily. Beijing certainly has made clear the need for stimulus. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has already loosened the credit reins. It has released considerable bank liquidity for lending by …