MNI China Press Digest May 17:Commodities, Property Tax, Covid

The following lists highlights from Chinese press reports on Monday:

• The current commodity rally in China may ease in H2 as the government reserves the tools including adjusting monetary policies and limiting construction activities, the China Securities Journal said citing Chen Li, the chief economist with Chuancai Securities. The levels of liquidity and construction activities are not strong enough to sustain further price gains, therefore the central bank may not see the need to tighten yet given the persistent global pandemic and China's weak employment, Chen said.
• Launching a property tax may help the Chinese government to curb the rising home price and the market will stabilize in the long run after initial fall, the 21st Century Business Herald said in an editorial. The property tax will only target those holding too many houses and won't impact most families, the newspaper said. Boosting domestic consumption, the key of China's dual circulation model, also requires controls over housing and reduce pressure owning a home, it said. The editorial was published after last week some ministries convened to discuss the long-deliberated property tax.
• More people across China rushed to receive Covid-19 vaccines after a resurgence of cases was reported in Anhui and Liaoning provinces, with people in Anhui's capital Hefei lining up late into the night in rain, the Global Times reported. China has had low inoculation rates, with 10 of the 31 provinces not reaching the country's average rate of around 14 percent, as many felt the virus had been well contained, the newspaper said. China, with a population of 1.4 billion, had administered just over 390 million doses as of May 16. The recent resurgence may have originated in the port city of Yingkou in Liaoning, and has links to imported cases, the newspaper said.