MNI China Press Digest Apr 16: Consumption, PBOC, A-shares

MNI (BEIJING) - Highlights from Chinese press reports on Wednesday:

• China should promote consumption, expand domestic demand, and strengthen domestic circulation with greater effort, calmly responding to the difficulties and challenges brought about by external shocks, said Premier Li Qiang. Authorities must make full use of policies to cope with the adverse impact on foreign trade by coordinating domestic and international standards and building a platform for high-quality foreign trade products to expand domestic sales, said Li. (Source: China Securities Journal)
• The People’s Bank of China will likely make good use of key strategies at critical moments to maximise policy effectiveness, as it considers the timing and intensity of easing, said China Securities Journal in a commentary. The bank is taking into consideration the impact of "reciprocal tariffs," the possibility of expansionary fiscal policies pushing up market interest rates, and potential risks in the capital market, the newspaper said. There is varied policy space given normal levels of policy interest rates, a higher-than-average reserve requirement ratio and relatively low proportion of structural tools to the bank's balance sheet, the newspaper added.
• Moves by listed companies to repurchase and increase shareholdings in the past week have helped to push the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index back above 3,200, highlighting investors’ confidence and authorities’ determination to stabilise the stock market, Shanghai Securities News reported. The total scale of repurchase and increase in holdings proposed by 252 listed firms reached CNY100.55 billion during April 7-15, with the scale and speed reaching record highs in recent years, the newspaper said.