MNI China Press Digest, Sept 5: China-U.S., RRR Cuts, Growth

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

on Thursday:

     China and the U.S. have agreed to hold the 13th round of trade talks in

Washington in early October, according to a statement on the Ministry of

Commerce website. Both sides will maintain close communication and start serious

consultation in mid-September to be fully prepared for making substantive

progress during the talks, the report said. China's Vice Premier and top trade

negotiator Liu He spoke with senior U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer

and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin in a telephone call on this

morning.

     The PBOC is very likely to cut the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) in

September, as the State Council executive meeting on Wednesday said China will

use general and targeted RRR cuts in a timely manner, Shanghai Securities News

reported. The State Council also noted that China will speed up lowering the

actual interest rate and increase financial support for the real economy,

especially for private and small companies, the paper said.

     The PBOC will increase fine-tuning of monetary policy in H2, based on

changes in economic growth and price levels, according to an article wrote by

Dong Ximiao, a researcher at National Institution for Finance & Development,

published by the PBOC-run newspaper Financial News. Any reserve requirement

ratio or interest rate cuts should be more targeted and structural, said Dong.

     China's main priority should be stabilizing the economic growth, as this

will boost the courage and confidence to continue negotiations with the U.S.,

said CDF Insight citing Huo Jianguo, vice chairman of the China Society for

World Trade Organization Studies. China's GDP growth next year could remain

above 6%, if it increases the counter-cyclical adjustment of macro policies to

boost domestic growth momentum. China's economy will bottom out if the trade

talks can achieve the desired results and domestic reforms can be further

accelerated, according to Huo.

--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

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