Whenever Chinese families switch on the television for the evening news they are likely to see a slogan, next to the anchor’s head, which reads: “Face the challenge with unwavering confidence.”

The eight large red characters have accompanied economic news items on the leading state broadcaster for most of the past month. They signal just how hard a blow the global financial crisis is dealing to China, how worried the country’s leadership has become and how it is trying to explain its efforts to fight the crisis and calm potential unrest.