MNI China Press Digest June 21: Housing, EU Pork, Electricity

Highlights from Chinese press reports on Friday:

• China has expanded the scope of calling on local authorities to buy up completed-but-unsold housing stock for affordable housings to county-level cities on Thursday, with analysts expecting the acquisition to be rolled out across the country soon, 21st Century Business Herald reported. The central bank could increase the quota, or lower the rate of the CNY300 billion re-lending facility to fund the scheme, while the central and local governments may increase policy support by providing interest subsidies and guarantees, the newspaper said citing Wang Qing, chief macro analyst from Golden Credit Rating.
• China began its anti-dumping investigation into EU pork on June 17 and will impose duties if relevant regulations are met, according to He Yadong, spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce. On whether Beijing will investigate EU diary, He said authorities have paid attention to the relevant industry demands and will make decisions according to law. Regarding EU tariffs on Chinese EVs, He said the European Commission unreasonably accused Chinese firms of not cooperating and imposed punitive high tax rates as a result.
• China’s electricity consumption grew by 7.2% in May, with the industrial sector up 6.8%, services up 9.9%, and households rising 5.5%, according to data from the National Energy Administration (NEA). At a press conference, NEA Director Zhang Jianhua denied China’s new energy industry had overcapacity, noting that firms had expanded production given optimistic expectations, and that a moderate oversupply can support technological progress and reduce production costs. (Source: Yicai)