MNI China Press Digest June 20: Growth, Consumption, Shanghai

The following lists highlights from Chinese press reports on Monday:

• The Chinese economy is expected to grow by around 3% in Q2, and it should strive to achieve the annual target of growing 5.5%, The Paper reported citing Yao Jingyuan, former chief economist and spokesperson of the National Bureau of Statistics. It is not a question of what policy is still lacking, but a matter of implementing the 33 pro-growth measures released by the State Council earlier, the newspaper said citing Yao. Local governments can further reduce the down payment ratio and lower the mortgage rate to boost housing demand, and it is also necessary to offer more support to private and small business to promote employment, Yao was cited as saying.
• China’s retail sales are expected to improve in June and turn positive later amid stimulus including the issuance of consumer coupons and “red envelopes” in the form of e-CNY, the Securities Daily reported. Xiamen city will issue over CNY20 million in digital red envelopes and CNY40 million worth of e-CNY coupons this week, while Wenzhou city is about to issue CNY30 million of e-CNY red envelopes, the newspaper said. Retail sales still fell by 6.7%y/y in May, narrowing from the previous 11.1% decline.
• Jiangsu, the neighboring province of Shanghai has largely relaxed the quarantine policy for people leaving Shanghai, Yicai.com reported. Nanjing, Suzhou and other cities in Jiangsu have scrapped the requirement of “seven-day collective quarantine + seven-day home quarantine” for people not coming from medium or high risks areas in Shanghai, and only apply “seven-day health monitoring” which suggests not to go to crowded areas or take public transportation during the period, the newspaper said.