MNI China Press Digest Aug 11: Monetary Policy, Yuan, Covid-19

The following lists highlights from Chinese press reports on Thursday:

• The People’s Bank of China pledged to increase the intensity of prudent monetary policy but avoid massive stimulus and excessive money printing, as it looks to balance economic growth and price stability, Yicai.com reported, citing the central bank’s Q2 monetary policy report released late Wednesday. The PBOC warned of increasing structural inflation pressure, with CPI set to rise from the 1.7% level seen in H1, likely exceeding 3.0% in some months in H2, said Yicai. Still, it is widely believed that overall price pressures will remain subdued and will not constrain monetary policy, providing space for stabilizing growth and expanding demand, said Yicai, citing analysts.
• China should further improve the quotation mechanism of the central parity rate of the yuan, and vigorously develop its FX market by enriching trading products, expanding trading entities and relaxing trading restrictions, the Securities Daily reported, citing Guan Tao, a former FX official and now chief economist of BOC Securities. Further relaxation of the exchange rate fluctuation limit may be considered after the economic recovery stabilizes, though it is also necessary to retain the autonomy of exchange rate management and hold sufficient FX reserves, the newspaper said, citing Wang Youxin, senior researcher at Bank of China Research Institute.
• Fresh Covid-19 outbreaks in West China’s two autonomous regions, Xinjiang and Tibet, have put several cities there into temporary lockdowns for 3 or 5 days, Caixin reported. The outbreaks in Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and Guangdong province are rapidly developing, with a risk of further spread to society, while the outbreaks in Tibet have a high risk of spreading, said Caixin, citing Mi Feng, spokesperson of the National Health and Medical Commission at a Wednesday briefing. Since August, nine provinces have reported more than 100 local infections, including over 2,000 cases in Hainan province, indicating a severe and complicated anti-pandemic situation, said Caixin.