Chinese President Xi Jinping.Getty Images China's economic performance fell below analyst expectations, per July data released by the Bureau of Statistics. China's central bank surprisingly cut key policy rates less than an hour before the economic data was published. The PBOC cut its one-year medium-term lending facility rate by 15 basis points to 2.5%, the biggest reduction since 2020. Less than an hour before releasing another series of disappointing economic indicators, China's central bank unexpectedly cut key policy rates, signaling the government wants to ramp up efforts to turbo-charge the country's post-pandemic recovery.The People's Bank of China slashed its one-year medium-term lending facility rate by 15 basis points to 2.5%, the deepest cut since 2020.The rate — which relates to loans to financial institutions — was lowered by 10 basis points in June and is now at the lowest level since it was launched in 2014.