MNI China Press Digest, August 4: Tic Tok, Real Estate, PBOC

The following lists highlights from Chinese press reports on Tuesday:

China will not accept the "theft" of a Chinese technology company and it has a number of response options if the Trump administration carries out its planned "smash and grab" of banning TikTok's U.S. operations, the China Daily said in an editorial. The U.S. has effectively invited potential U.S. buyers to participate in an officially sanctioned "steal" of Chinese technology, the newspaper said. Selling its U.S. operations to Microsoft might be preferable for ByteDance, TikTok's parent company in China, as it is working "for the best outcome", the Daily said.

China's Top 100 property developers saw sales revenue increase by an annualised 25.7% in July, the fastest growth this year, according to 21st Century Business Herald. Citing data from CRIC Research, the Herald's report said land sales also accelerated this year as 50 larger cities recorded CNY2.35 trillion in sales in the first seven months, up 17.4% from last year. Home buyers crowded markets in some cities such as Shenzhen, Chengdu and Nanjing with some in Chengdu requiring lotteries.

The PBOC may refrain from further cuts to banks' RRRs or policy interest rates in H2 as policymakers resort to pressing lenders to reduce profit margins to help reduce financing costs, Yicai.com reported. The report cited Wang Qing, the chief macroeconomy analyst with Golden Orient Rating, who predicted that M2 and total social financing will increase by no more than 12% and 14% respectively as the PBOC scales back monetary easing.