MNI China Daily Summary: Friday, April 25

POLICY: People’s Bank of China will implement a moderately accommodative policy to support China’s economic growth and major economies should strengthen policy coordination to safeguard against global economic and financial stability, PBOC governor Pan Gongsheng said in Washington at the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.

POLICY: China will expand high-level opening up and focus on stabilising employment, enterprises, markets, and expectations, in a bid to respond to external uncertainty with high-quality development, Xinhua News Agency reported citing a statement following the Politburo meeting.

POLICY: China will take further measures to stimulate the economy, stabilize equity and real estate markets and defuse risks from local government debt, according to the latest Politburo meeting chaired by President Xi Jinping.

LIQUIDITY: The People's Bank of China (PBOC) conducted CNY159.5 billion via 7-day reverse repos, with the rate unchanged at 1.50%. The operation led to a net drain of CNY91 billion after offsetting the maturities of CNY250.5 billion reverse repos today, according to Wind Information.

RATES: The seven-day weighted average interbank repo rate for depository institutions (DR007) fell to 1.6358% from 1.7199% on Thursday, Wind Information showed. The overnight repo average decreased to 1.5817% from 1.6024%.

YUAN: The currency strengthened to 7.2832 against the dollar from 7.2931 on Thursday. The PBOC set the dollar-yuan central parity rate lower at 7.2066, compared with 7.2098 set on Thursday. The fixing was estimated at 7.2911 by Bloomberg survey today.

BONDS: The yield on 10-year China Government Bonds was last at 1.6600%, down from Thursday's close of 1.6700%, according to chinamoney.com.cn.

STOCKS: The Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.07% to 3,295.06, while the CSI300 index edged up 0.07% to 3,786.99. The Hang Seng Index rose 0.32% at 21,980.74.

FROM THE PRESS: China saw eight out of 11 major provinces record GDP growth above 5.4% in Q1, Yicai reports, noting that nine regions saw increases faster than their annual target. Hubei grew fastest at 6.3%, followed by Anhui at 6.2%, with Shandong and Zhejiang both seeing a 6% rise. Jiangsu, Henan, Fujian and Sichuan also surpassed the national average, Yicai said. However, Guangdong, China’s largest provincial economy, rose 4.1%, below its 5.0% yearly target.

China has returned a third Boeing aircraft—originally earmarked for Air China—to the United States, after Xiamen Airlines recently flew back two single-aisle planes, a move linked to Beijing’s decision to suspend deliveries from the Seattle-based manufacturer to domestic carriers, according to Yicai.com. Additionally, several airlines announced a halt in the procurement of specific U.S. imported aviation components. Notably, Boeing has delivered 20 out of the 49 aircraft scheduled for China this year, in contrast to Airbus’ plans for 136 aircraft in 2025 and 148 aircraft in 2026.

China will firmly uphold the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organisation as the foundation, advocate for the resolution of trade and tariff disputes through equal dialogue and consultation, and safeguard its legitimate rights and interests, said Finance Minister Lan Fo’an during the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting. All parties should further improve the international economic and financial system through strengthening multilateral cooperation and promote the reform of multilateral development banks, said Lan. (Source: Ministry of Finance Website)