MNI China Press Digest, July 2: Local Bonds, Trade Talk, PPP

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

on Tuesday:

     CHINA PRESS: China may expand the scale of local government special bond

issuance to cushion economic headwinds, the 21st Century Business Herald said

Tuesday. The government is allowed to use the remaining balance from previous

years, which totals CNY1.13 trillion through the end of 2018, the newspaper

reported, citing Zhou Guannan, chief fixed-income analyst of Huachuang

Securities. This leaves room for additional issuance this year, above the

planned CNY2.15 trillion, which was CNY800 billion more than in 2018.

     CHINA PRESS: The resumption of China-U.S. talks must be based on equality

and mutual respect, an important prerequisite for negotiations and a guarantee

for reaching a deal, Xinhua News Agency said in a commentary piece late Monday.

Both sides should respect each other's core interests, instead of sacrificing

the other's development right or damage the sovereignty of a country, Xinhua

added.

     CHINA PRESS: Private capital should not be held back from involvement in

Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects and public bidding should be the main

way of selection, China Securities Journal reported Tuesday citing a statement

by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). PPP projects bypassing

approval and review procedures will not be allowed to get underway, the NDRC

said, noting that local government's trying to disguise debt levels is also

banned.

--MNI Beijing Bureau; tel: +86 (10) 8532-5998; email: flora.guo@marketnews.com

--MNI London Bureau; tel: +44 203-586-2225; email: les.commons@marketnews.com

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