MNI Press Digest Feb 4: Yuan, Macro Policies, Myanmar

The following lists highlights from Chinese press reports on Thursday:

• The Chinese yuan may strengthen further to as high as 6.2 against the U.S. dollar amid increased volatility, the China Securities Journal reported citing Zhang Ming, deputy director of the Institute of Finance at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. In the long term, the yuan's rally may be difficult to support given China's current account surplus will likely narrow after other economies recover, the newspaper said citing Liu Zhengning, a CICC analyst.
• China will emphasize the sustainability of its macro-economic policies and ensure they are based on normalized fundamentals, while also ensuring that any withdrawal of stimulus will be measured to avoid abrupt changes and potential risks, Chen Changsheng, a director from the Development Research Center of the State Council said in an interview with Economic Daily. China's CPI this year should be relatively low as regional pandemic control measures subside and consumer demand recovers, said Chen. China should see a lower dependence on real estate finances to make quick asset turnovers as new regulations curb unregulated real estate loans, Chen said.
• Comments by Japan's State Minister of Defense saying China was opposing 'politically free democratic nations' on the Myanmar situation reflect Japan's Cold War mentality, the Global Times said citing Xu Liping, director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The military takeover does not mean joining 'the league of China', Xu said. Smaller countries have been given little choice in their form of governance as western democracies actively promote their models, the newspaper said.