MNI China Press Digest Dec 22: Policies, Iran, UK Covid

The following lists highlights from Chinese press reports on Tuesday:

China is likely to maintain its current monetary policies into next year, while any withdrawal of pandemic-era stimulus will be done gradually, the Economic Information Daily reported, following the Central Economic Work Conference. China will maintain the stability of the yuan by aligning market rates to the PBOC's moves. China may offer refinancing to micro and small businesses, ensure stable capital flows and prevent policy mismatch, the newspaper said, citing Wen Bin, a researcher from China Minsheng Bank. The PBOC may continue to maintain liquidity through OMO/MLF operations with targeted RRR cuts to manufacturing and microlending to medium enterprises, the newspaper said, citing Tang Jianwei, a researcher with Bank of Communications.

The U.S. should return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action as soon as possible and China supports multilateral talks on regional security in the Gulf, the China Daily reported, citing Foreign Minister Wang Yi's speech at a meeting about Iran's nuclear issues. China urges the U.S. to lift pressure and sanctions on Iran, which Wang said will further delay Iran's return to its nuclear commitments even as President-elect Joe Biden shows an interest in rejoining the negotiations.

The world must take coordinated action to defeat Covid-19 as the mutated version of the virus in the UK is likely to spread beyond its borders despite measures to halt flights, the Global Times said in an editorial. The UK has paid a heavy price for its unstructured anti-virus response and for believing in herd immunity, the newspaper added.