MNI China Press Digest, July 15: Infrastructure, China-U.K.

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

on Wednesday:

     China should further increase infrastructure investment to boost the

sluggish demand which is the major problem in the current economy, Economic

Information Daily reported. The newspaper cited Zhang Liqun, a researcher with

the Research Development Centre of the State Council, who said 54% of companies

surveyed did not have sufficient orders, a factor which could limit a revival in

production. China's GDP growth would have to reach 4% by the end of this year if

the government was to meet the target of creating 9 million jobs, Zhang added.

     China needs to retaliate against the U.K. government ban on equipment maker

Huawei to show that China is not easy to bully, although a China-UK

confrontation is unnecessary, Global Times said in its editorial. Any

retaliation should be public and painful for the UK, the editorial said. In the

long run, the UK has no reason to turn against China as the Hong Kong issue is

fading out and Huawei still has the chance to come back in the UK market, the

communist party controlled newspaper said. The UK government has given a buffer

period for companies to move away from Huawei, indicating that banning Huawei is

a difficult action to achieve in practice, the editorial said.

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

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

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