MNI China Press Digest Feb 8: More Credit, Policy Room, Supply

The following lists highlights from Chinese press reports on Tuesday:

• China’s commercial banks are likely to increase overall credit growth in 2022, with more lending to infrastructure, manufacturing and supporting SMEs, the PBOC-run Financial News reported citing experts including researcher Du Yang at the Bank of China. The newspaper highlighted a recent meeting by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, which voiced support for infrastructure, technology and green finance. Banks will support local governments, tasked by the central government to help stabilize growth, Financial News said.
• China still has more room to tweak its monetary policies to aid growth even after the cuts to reserve ratios and interest rates, but it will use its abundant policy reserve "at the right time and to the right rhythm,” the official China Securities Journal said in a column citing experts’ opinions including a previous comment by PBOC Deputy governor Liu Guoqiang. With overall demand weak, the government first needs policies that generate immediate impacts, such as technological and urban infrastructure investment, the newspaper said citing analyst Wen Bin of China Merchant Bank. These measures will optimize the economic structure in the longer term, Wen was cited as saying.
• China needs to tackle its supply shortages, including the lack of microchips, raw material and shipping containers, which limit its economic growth, the official Economic Daily said in an editorial. It should immediately boost its domestic production of resources such as iron ore and crude oil to reduce reliance on imports, boost the reserves of key products and supplies and better utilize its strategic reserves, the newspaper said. China should also promote domestic production of microchips and other industrial components that rely on imports, such as high-end generators and machine tools, the newspaper said.