MNI China Press Digest, May 9: Sino-U.S., Housing

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

Thursday:

     China is well prepared for trade negotiations with the U.S. amid an

escalation in the tariff wars, the Global Times said in an editorial today,

following a notice posted to the Federal Register confirming U.S. President

Donald Trump's threat to hike tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports. China

is better prepared for any outcome, including retaliatory tariffs and plans to

reduce losses incurred by Chinese enterprises, the paper said, adding that

Beijing doesn't want to, but is not afraid of going into a trade war.

     China has urged the U.S. to respect China's sovereignty and abide by the

one-China principle and the Three Joint Communiques when handling Taiwan-related

issues, the People's Daily said today in a front-page editorial, after the lower

chamber of the U.S. Congress unanimously backed legislation supporting Taiwan.

China's government and people have the confidence and capacity to defeat any

interference in China's domestic affairs, the paper said.

     The land markets in second-tier cities started to heat up since recent

weeks, with the land premium rate exceeding 30% in several regions, while

housing markets are more varied, the China Securities Journal said today.

Housing transactions in first-tier cities decreased on a monthly basis after the

recovery earlier, although prices remain stable. Both prices and turnover in

second-tier housing hotspots continue to rise, while those in third- and

four-cities declined from the peak earlier, the newspaper said citing Zhang

Dawei, chief analyst at Centaline Property.

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

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

[TOPICS: M$A$$$,M$Q$$$,MI$$$$]