MNI China Press Digest Dec 22: Yuan, Prices, Offshore

Highlights from Chinese press reports on Monday:

• The yuan is expected to gradually appreciate to around 6.0 from the 7.0 level against the U.S. dollar over the next decade, Huang Qifan, former mayor of Chongqing city, said. By moderately appreciating the exchange rate, China can enhance the yuan’s purchasing power, promote import growth, and boost the goal of doubling per capita GDP in U.S. dollar terms in the medium to long term, said Huang. He also called for reducing the scale of export tax rebates to allow more fiscal resources to be used for social welfare and innovation development. (Source: Beijing Business Today)
• China's authorities moved to regulate price competition on internet platforms, combating predatory pricing, price discrimination, collusion and other unfair practices, Securities Daily reported Monday, citing a document issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and two other departments. The move will protect consumers’ rights by preventing discriminatory pricing based on big data and false discounts, as well as encouraging platform companies to invest in building core competitiveness, such as technological innovation and service upgrades, the newspaper said citing analysts.
• China's offshore financial operations are stabilising with the offshore financial index rising 0.31% to 106.5 in 2024 from 2023, Yicai.com reported citing a report by Shanghai Chief Economist Financial Development Center. Sub-indices measuring the scale of offshore bond issuance and offshore trade settlement increased by 3.04% and 1.28% y/y, while that of cross-border RMB receipts and payments exceeded CNY35 trillion, a rise of about 14% y/y. It is necessary to expand the full-chain functions of offshore yuan in pricing, settlement, investment and financing, and accelerate the global layout of Cross-border Interbank Payment System (CIPS), the report said.