MNI China Press Digest May 20: Yuan, Normal Growth, Australia

The following lists highlights from Chinese press reports on Thursday:

• The Chinese yuan may remain in the range of 6.3 to 6.7 against the dollar for 2021 with the central point around 6.4 to 6.5, the Economic Daily said citing Tang Jianwei, an analyst at the Bank of Communications. The recent appreciation of the yuan can be attributed to the strong domestic recovery and the Federal Reserve's dovish stance which held down the dollar index, the daily said citing Zhou Maohua, an analyst with Everbright Bank. The yuan closed at 6.4383 against the dollar on Wednesday.
• China's economy has yet to return to normal growth even as the April data released this week showed the recovery is on course, said the Economic Daily in a commentary. Consumption recovery still lags behind the production, while investment in manufacturing is also not at the pre-pandemic level, the daily said. China should boost domestic demand by stimulating auto and home appliance purchases, increasing investment in the manufacturing industry, and stepping up the income of residents, it said. Still, the daily cited two international forecasts that projected 8% growth this year.
• The Morrison government's choice of pandering to the U.S. at the expense of its ties with China will harm Australia as China further diversifies away from Australian commodities, the government-run Global Times said. The booming iron ore exports to China have so far allowed the Morrison administration to claim an ongoing trade relationship with China, ignoring that other domestic industries have suffered badly from deteriorating political ties, the newspaper said. China's suspension of economic dialogues this month in response to Canberra's undermining mutual trust points to a further downward spiral, the newspaper said.