MNI China Press Digest, July 11: Trade, Yuan, Interest Rates

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

on Thursday:

     China will stabilize trade by further reducing import tariffs, improving

export tax rebates and cutting insurance fees for exporters, according to a

statement from the State Council's executive meeting. The meeting, held on

Wednesday and reported on the government website, said that China will push for

greater breakthroughs in facilitating trade, including the simplification of

trade certificates, the shortening of clearance times and the reduction of port

charges.

     China should further promote the internationalization of the yuan to drive

its status as a stronger global currency, Securities Times said today. The

newspaper cited Zhou Xiaochuan, a former governor of the PBOC, who said that the

launch of Facebook's Libra cryptocurrency suggested there was the potential for

a stronger international currency which could be exchanged with sovereign

currencies to become a global currency. Zhou said that this development could

change global capital flow, and China needs to prepare for it.

     A cut in Chinese interest rates is dependent on the progress of China-U.S.

trade negotiations, Securities Times reported today. Citing a number of experts,

the newspaper said the PBOC may not rule out the possibility of cutting

benchmark deposit rates, because this would impact on banks' actual lending

rates faster than cutting policy rates. The PBOC wants to lower financing costs

for private and small companies and a cut in benchmark rates could help drive

this, given that the recent low level of market rates leaves little room for

more downward adjustment.

--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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