FACTBOX: China's recent measures to spur growth

BEIJING (Reuters) - China slashed interest rates on Wednesday, dramatically stepping up the pace of monetary easing to help cushion the blow of the global financial crisis on the world's fourth-largest economy.

Following are some of the recent steps China has taken to prop up economic growth, which has been slowing due to weakening external demand and the belated impact of restrictive domestic policies, including tighter credit.

MONETARY AND CREDIT POLICY

NOV 26 -- The People's Bank of China (PBOC), the central bank, cuts benchmark one-year lending and deposit rates by 108 basis points. It also cuts big banks' required reserves by 1 percentage point and that for small- and medium-sized lenders by 2 percentage points, from December 5.

NOV 6 -- Bill rates tumble a day after the People's Bank of China (PBOC) scales back liquidity-draining three-month bill sales from once a week to once every two weeks. It made a similar change to the schedule for 52-week bill sales the week before.

NOV 1 -- The PBOC scraps lending quotas, Xinhua quotes spokesman Li Chao as saying.

OCT 29 -- The PBOC cuts benchmark one-year lending and deposit rates by 27 basis points.

OCT 8 -- The PBOC cuts benchmark one-year lending and deposit rates by 27 bp. It also cuts banks' required reserves by 0.5 percentage points from October 15.

OCT 6 -- The PBOC reopens the medium-term note market after a four-month hiatus and lengthens maturities to seven years from five.

SEPT 15 -- The PBOC cuts the benchmark one-year lending rate by 27 bps but keeps deposit rates unchanged.

It also lowers reserve requirements by 1 percentage point for all banks except China's five biggest lenders and the Postal Savings Bank. The reduction for local banks in areas hit by May's earthquake is 2 points.

SEPT 1 -- The PBOC urges banks to lend more to the rural sector, small firms and regions hit by earlier natural disasters.

AUG 1 -- The PBOC increases credit quotas by 5 percent for national banks and 10 percent for regional banks, directing them to channel the extra loans mainly to smaller firms.

EXPORT SECTOR

NOV 17 -- China raises export tax rebates for a range of products, effective on December 1.

NOV 14 -- China scraps export taxes for some steel products, aluminum, rice, wheat, flour and fertilizers from December 1.