MNI China Press Digest March 22: Russia, Property, Growth

Highlights from Chinese press reports on Wednesday:

• China will deepen economic cooperation with Russia and improve the quality and quantity of commercial relations between the two nations, Chinese President Xi Jingping told Russian Prime Minister Mishustin at a meeting in Moscow. Xi said both sides will jointly maintain security and stability in energy and industrial supply chains. China also wants to implement the Economic and Trade Cooperation Agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union to develop deeper regional cooperation. Mishustin said Russia is willing to strengthen cooperation with China in areas such as investment and trade, energy, natural gas, peaceful uses of nuclear energy and aerospace. (Source: Yicai.com)
• The People's Bank of China (PBOC) move to lower the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) will support the real estate market by improving wider economic conditions and boosting house buyer sentiment, according to news outlet Cailian. Analysts said while not directly aimed at the real estate sector, RRR cuts historically had boosted the market by easing financial conditions for developers. The foundation of the property recovery is not solid and the latest RRR cut does not rule out more targeted interest rate cuts for the sector in the near future, the news outlet said.
• Improving total factor productivity is the key to achieving high quality growth of around 5% over the next 10 years, according to economists speaking at the Peking University's Policy Analysis Conference. To boost productivity, experts called for reforms to state-owned enterprises, improvements to intellectual property rights, and more private enterprise creativity. In the short term, it is necessary to make good use of macro policies to secure the economic recovery, which will provide long term benefits and technological strength.