MNI China Daily Summary: Monday, September 15

POLICY: China’s fixed-asset investment growth decelerated to 0.5% y/y in the Jan–Aug period from the previous 1.6%, marking the slowest pace since Aug 2020 and missing an expectation of 1.5%, National Bureau of Statistics data showed.

POLICY: China’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) could be rebounding, supported by stronger consumer demand and seasonal factors, according to Fu Linghui, spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics.

LIQUIDITY: The PBOC conducted CNY280 billion via 7-day reverse repos, with the rate unchanged at 1.40%. The operation led to a net injection of CNY88.5 billion after offsetting maturities of CNY191.5 billion today, according to Wind Information

RATES: The seven-day weighted average interbank repo rate for depository institutions (DR007) rose to 1.4832% from 1.4575%, Wind Information showed. The overnight repo average increased to 1.4139% from 1.3646%.

YUAN: The currency weakened to 7.1228 against the dollar from 7.1224 on Friday. The PBOC set the dollar-yuan central parity rate higher at 7.1056, compared with 7.1019 set on Friday. The fixing was estimated at 7.1231 by Bloomberg survey today.

BONDS: The yield on 10-year China Government Bonds was last at 1.8550%, down from the previous close of 1.8650%, according to chinamoney.com.cn.

STOCKS: The Shanghai Composite Index edged fell 0.26% to 3,860.50 while the CSI300 index increased 0.24% to 4,533.06. The Hang Seng Index rose 0.22% to 26,446.56.

FROM THE PRESS: China is open to negotiate and is willing to resolve respective concerns and find solutions to problems through dialogue on the basis of mutual respect and equal negotiation, the party-run People’s Daily said in a commentary ahead of a new round of U.S.-China trade talks in Spain. Regarding the TikTok issue, China will adhere to principles and firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies, the newspaper said, noting the Chinese government will never require any company or individual to collect or provide data located in foreign countries in violation of local laws. Reaching consensus in any negotiation requires the joint efforts of both parties, the newspaper said.

China initiated an anti-discrimination investigation into U.S. trade policy over chips on Saturday, as well as a separate investigation into dumping, according to the Ministry of Commerce statements. The U.S.’s "protectionist" practices of imposing a series of restrictions on China over chips in recent years, including trade discrimination investigations and export controls, are intended to curb and suppress China's development of high-tech industries such as advanced computing chips and artificial intelligence, the ministry said. MOFCOM also said it received a formal application for an anti-dumping investigation submitted by the Jiangsu Semiconductor Industry Association in July 2025 on behalf of the relevant domestic analog chip industry and such an investigation will normally be completed by Sep 13, 2026, or may be extended for another six months.

Residents continued to invest bank deposits into the capital market in August, Yicai.com reported citing analysts, with household savings increasing by CNY110 billion, a year-on-year decrease of CNY600 billion. Deposits at non-bank financial institutions increased by CNY1.18 trillion yuan, a rise of CNY550 billion y/y. Bank deposits were lower than the seasonal growth rate for two consecutive months, the first time in 2025. The M1-M2 spread further narrowed by 0.4 percentage points from July to -2.8%, the lowest value since June 2021, as residents or enterprises converted time deposits into current deposits for consumption or investment.