MNI China Press Digest Oct 31:Sino-US, Investment, Consumption

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

• China hopes the U.S. can work together to implement the consensus reached at the meeting between the two heads of state with concrete actions, strengthen dialogue and communication, properly manage differences, and expand mutually beneficial cooperation to lay a more solid foundation for Sino-U.S. relations, said People’s Daily in a commentary. The meeting proved again that the common interests between the two countries far outweigh their differences, and the world is large enough to accommodate two major powers for China and the U.S. to be partners and friends, the newspaper said.
• The recently announced CNY500 billion policy-based financial instruments, which have been fully deployed, are expected to drive a total investment of over CNY7 trillion, Shanghai Securities News reported. The China Development Bank, the Agricultural Development Bank of China, and the Export-Import Bank of China deployed CNY250 billion, CNY150 billion, and CNY100 billion respectively, which will drive CNY3.85 trillion, CNY1.93 trillion, and CNY1.3 trillion project investment. The funds will mainly support projects in digital economy, artificial intelligence, and the consumer sector, the newspaper said.
• Authorities will expand the product categories offered by duty-free shops to mobile phones, micro drones, sporting goods, health supplements, over-the-counter drugs, and pet food, to boost consumption, according to a document released by the Ministry of Finance and four other departments, Yicai.com reported. It is also necessary to increase efforts to promote domestic products, especially those that embody Chinese culture, as the current variety of duty-free goods is relatively limited, mainly consisting of luxury items. The ministry also relaxed the approval authority for the establishment of duty-free shops to local governments, the newspaper said.