MNI China Press Digest, Jan 15: Trade, Economy, Shadow Banking

     BEIJING (MNI) - The following lists highlights from Chinese press reports

on Wednesday:

     The normalisation of U.S.-China trade relations will be a challenging task

as the factors which triggered the trade war have not disappeared, Global Times

said in an editorial late Tuesday. The editorial said the phase one deal had

softened the antagonism between the two countries, and the U.S. decision to

remove China's designation as a "currency manipulator" was positive and

reasonable. However, there was no reason for China to be grateful and many

Chinese people were concerned that the U.S. would repeat the same tricks again

if the two countries had disputes again in the future. 

     China's local governments should accelerate the issuance of special-purpose

bonds to support ongoing projects and promote new projects, according to Premier

Li Keqiang. Speaking during the fourth plenary meeting of the State Council, Li

said the bond issuance was needed to drive effective investment. Xinhua News

Agency reported the comments by Li, who urged all departments and local

authorities to make full preparations for tough economic battles and strive for

a good economic performance in Q1. 

     China should take a gradual approach to reducing the scale of the shadow

banking sector because private companies have difficulty in obtaining loans from

banks, according to a commentary published by the Economic Daily. Financial

institutions, including banks and trusts, should improve their ability to serve

the financing needs of private companies, the article said. 

--MNI Beijing Bureau; +86 (10) 8532-5998; email: wanxia.lin@marketnews.com

--MNI Sydney Bureau; +61 405322399; email: lachlan.colquhoun.ext@marketnews.com

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