MNI China Press Digest Nov 25: Yuan, Platform, Economy

Highlights from Chinese press reports on Monday:

• China’s yuan is expected to reach 17% of global payments by 2035 should the current trend of one percentage point increase per year be maintained, according to Huang Qifan, professor at Fudan University and former mayor of Chongqing. Speaking at a financial forum, Huang said China will liberalise its capital account only when yuan internationalisation equals the nation's position in the world economy. Looking ahead, Hong Kong should continue as an offshore yuan centre, while authorities develop the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership region. (Source: Yicai)
• The State Council's pledge to increase support for the digital platform economy, which act as online intermediaries between buyers and sellers, will help the country achieve its growth target by boosting business confidence, consumption and employment, Yicai.com reported, citing analysts. The platform economy provided over 200 million flexible jobs, with online retail sales for the first 10 months reaching CNY12.4 trillion, rising 8.8% y/y, the newspaper said. In 2020, authorities' cracked down on the platform economy before normalising supervision, and then turning to support, the news outlet said.
• China’s economy shows increasing signs of recovery with a recent rebound in leading indicators such as PMIs, according to Zhang Yansheng, chief expert at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges. Zhang, speaking at a forum, expected the government's fiscal deficit to rise in 2025 to support local authorities, enterprises and residents. Officials need to expand domestic demand and imports to deal with increasing foreign trade difficulties, Zhang added. China will need to raise more special treasury bonds to assist local governments in addition to lowering the cost of debt burden, Song Min, a former economics dean at Wuhan University said.