China’s central government announced a plan to ease borrowing, cut taxes and expedite infrastructure spending through a plan which, if it materializes, will be much bigger than anything yet contemplated in the U.S. According to Xinhua, the Chinese news agency, the program is a “shift long advocated by analysts of the Chinese economy” and “comes amid indications” of slowing growth and exports. The program, which has a two-year price tag of about $570 billion, includes roads, water, environmental improvements and earthquake reconstruction. Economist C. Fred Bergsten, a China expert, described the contemplated U.S. infrastructure stimulus ideas as “peanuts by comparison” but added that what helps China will also be good for the U.S.