XI, TRUMP DISCUSS TRADE DEAL, RELATIONS IN PHONE CALL

The China-US phase one trade deal, reached on the basis of equality and mutual respect and against the backdrop of an extremely complicated international environment, will benefit both countries and contribute to peace and prosperity of the world, Chinese President Xi Jinping told his US counterpart Donald Trump on Friday.

In the phone call at the invitation of the US side, Xi also expressed "grave concern" over the recent US "negative statements and actions" on issues related to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet, which he said have interfered with China's internal affairs, damaged China's interests, and are not good for mutual trust and cooperation.

Xi told Trump that China hopes the US side will "conscientiously" implement the important consensuses reached in their multiple meetings and phone conversations, and pay close attention to China's concerns, thus avoiding disturbing the bilateral relations as well as the important agenda of both countries, according to a statement released by the Xinhua News Agency.

Xi noted that the economic and trade cooperation between the two countries has contributed tremendously to the steady development of their bilateral relations and to the global economic growth.

As the modern economy and technology have connected the world, the interests of China and the US will become increasingly interlinked, and there will be some differences in the course of their collaboration, he said.

As long as the two sides adhere to mutually-beneficial and win-win cooperation, and always respect the dignity, sovereignty, and core interests of the other country, they will be able to overcome the difficulties in the course of development, and push forward Sino-US economic and trade relations under the new historical conditions for the benefit of two countries and two peoples, Xi said.

Xi also said he is ready to maintain contact with Trump through various means, and exchange views on bilateral relations and international issues, and work together to promote a China-US relationship based on coordination, cooperation and stability.

In their phone call, Trump said the phase one trade deal is good for both countries and the rest of the world. It has received positive responses from the markets of both countries and the world, according to the Xinhua report.

The US side is ready to keep close contact and communications with the Chinese side for the deal to be signed earlier and implemented, Trump said.

Trump also said he looks forward to maintaining communications with Xi by various means. He said he believed that the two countries could properly resolve their differences and secure the steady growth of bilateral relations.

The two presidents also exchanged views on the Korean Peninsula situation.

Xi said that all sides should remain committed to the overall direction of finding a political solution to the situation on the Korean Peninsula, meet each other halfway, and maintain the momentum of dialogue and de-escalation, which is in the common interests of all parties.

Chinese Ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai tweeted on Friday, "Good communication between the leaders is essential for #China-#US relations."

XI STRESSES SAFEGUARDING NATION'S SOVEREIGNTY

President Xi Jinping reaffirmed China's strong determination to safeguard national sovereignty and oppose foreign forces' interference in Hong Kong and Macao affairs on Friday.

Xi made the remark while addressing a gathering in Macao to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Macao's return to the motherland.

"After Hong Kong and Macao returned to the motherland, it is completely China's internal affairs to handle the issues of the two special administrative regions, and we don't need any external forces to point a finger at that," Xi said.

China's government and people have a strong will to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, and any external forces' interference in Hong Kong and Macao affairs is not allowed, he added.

The president's remarks received sustained applause from the audience.

Chinese people, including Hong Kong and Macao compatriots, have the wisdom and complete capability to practice the "one country, two systems" policy better and govern the two SARs better, Xi said.

The forward movement of China's national rejuvenation is unstoppable, and Hong Kong and Macao will continue to develop and prosper together with the mainland, Xi said.

Over the past 20 years, the Macao Special Administrative Region government and people from all walks of life have achieved the best development in Macao's history, with the support of the central government and the mainland and under the leadership of former chief executives Ho Hau-wah and Chui Sai-on, Xi said.

Macao's economy has grown by leaps and bounds since its return, with per capita GDP soaring to the world's second highest, Xi said.

Macao has seen the early achievement of appropriately diversifying the economy with participation in the joint building of the Belt and Road and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, he said, underlining the stronger sense of fulfillment and happiness of Macao people thanks to constant improvement in their livelihoods.

Macao has become one of the safest cities in the world since its return to the motherland by swiftly tackling security problems that previously existed, Xi said.

Close communication has been maintained between the government and the residents, as well as among different walks of life and ethnic groups in Macao, where the Chinese culture has been carried forward and has prospered while coexisting with other cultures, Xi said.

The great achievements of Macao have demonstrated that as long as China firmly adheres to the "one country, two systems" policy, the vitality and superiority of the principle will be apparent, Xi said.

In the practice of implementing the "one country, two systems" policy, the Macao SAR government and people from all walks of life have shown their strong will and have never been moved by external forces' interference, Xi said.

Macao compatriots fully recognize that "one country" is the premise and foundation of the "two systems", and they have maintained the order set by the Constitution and the Basic Law, Xi said, adding that they have respected the country's socialist system.

The success of the region shows that Macao compatriots can shoulder their responsibility of governing, building and developing the SAR better, Xi said.

Speaking at the Macao SAR government's inauguration ceremony after overseeing the swearing-in of Chief Executive Ho Iat-seng, Xi instructed the new administrative team to further promote their governance capability.

The Macao SAR government should make further efforts to promote sustainable and healthy development of the economy, Xi said, adding that Macao should seize the opportunities of jointly building the Belt and Road and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

The SAR government should adhere to people-centered philosophy and take more measures to improve the people's livelihood, Xi said, adding that the government should positively respond to the people's concerns and address the issues of housing, health and pension.

Lau Siu-kai, vice-president of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, said that Xi's stressing that no foreign forces will be allowed to interfere in Hong Kong and Macao's affairs is a clear signal to the world.

The two SARs will never become bases for foreign forces to overturn the Chinese government, Lau said, adding that Xi has also indicated that the central government would be tough and proactive in dealing with foreign interference in the future.

PBOC KEEPS KEY LENDING BENCHMARK UNCHANGED

The People's Bank of China, the central bank, skipped an adjustment of the newly-launched lending rate, while injecting 150 billion yuan ($21 billion) into the financial system on Friday, to maintain sufficient liquidity and tame inflation expectations.

The one-year loan prime rate (LPR), a newly-launched interest rate for bank loans, stood at 4.15 percent, unchanged from the rate in November. The five-year LPR, which is a reference rate for newly-issued mortgage loans, was also unchanged from November's 4.80 percent, said the PBOC.

It was the fifth consecutive LPR fixing since it was introduced in August. Within five months, the one-year LPR has been reduced by 15 basis points, or 0.15 percentage point in total, when many of the world's major central banks cut the policy rates or restarted quantitative easing to spur economic growth.

On the same day, the PBOC injected a net amount of 150 billion yuan into the market through 14-day reverse repos at an interest rate of 2.65 percent. A reverse repo is a type of open market operation in which the central bank purchases securities from commercial banks through bidding, with an agreement to sell them back in the future.

Analysts said that the stable LPR was in line with market expectations. The US Federal Reserve's rate cuts in December have eased pressure on the PBOC to adopt a similar move.

Domestically, China still faces structural inflation pressure as indicated by the Consumer Price Index, mainly due to higher pork prices, they said. This month, the central bank's medium-term lending facility (MLF) rate, the price at which commercial banks borrow money from the PBOC and a base of the LPR, remained stable.

"The monetary policy will be more flexible for the next step, to implement the policy target of reducing social financing costs, as mentioned during the annual Central Economic Work Conference held last week," said Wen Bin, chief researcher of China Minsheng Bank.

Wen said a reserve requirement ratio (RRR) cut at the beginning of 2020 and the ample liquidity in commercial banks will lead to a lower LPR. With pork supplies set to be increased next year, inflation is likely to drop by the middle of next year, which will allow the policy rate to further decline.

Ming Ming, an analyst with CITIC Securities, expected possible cuts in interest rates and RRR during the first quarter of next year, as reducing financing costs is an important goal of the monetary policy, especially for the medium−to long-term loans in the manufacturing industry, which requires lower LPRs.

CHINA TO BUILD, RENOVATE OVER 28,000 SOCCER FIELDS IN 2020

China has planned to complete the construction and renovation of over 60,000 soccer fields in schools by the end of next year, about 50 percent more than what had been planned nationally (between 2016 and 2020), according to a news conference of the Ministry of Education on Friday.

China has completed the construction and renovation of a total of 32,432 soccer fields in schools from 2015 to 2018. An additional 28,545 soccer fields are expected to be completed by the end of next year, the news website chinanews.com reported.

As of September 2018, a total of 120,960 soccer fields have been built in schools of all levels across the country, the report said.

Currently, 27,059 primary and middle schools in China have been selected as special schools in football, 38 pilot zones for school football reform have been established, and 160 counties or districts have been selected as pilot areas for promoting football on campus.

PATRIOTIC SONG INSPIRES THE 'HOTTEST PHRASE' IN 2019

Stability” was chosen as the hottest Chinese character related to domestic topics this year, but the phrase that swept the country was “me and my motherland”.

They topped a list of popular words and phrases collected by the National Language Resource Monitoring and Research Center and the Commercial Press to assess characters used by Chinese-language media. The most popular words and phrases for 2019 were released by the organizers on Friday.

The campaign received thousands of suggestions from netizens nationwide since it started on Nov 20. It is the 14th time the list was published.

Many of the submissions related to domestic and international issues, but the dominant influencing factor was the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China in October.

During the anniversary celebrations, patriotic flash mobs popped up to sing the classic Chinese song Me and My Motherland which was also popular on social media.

Pop diva Faye Wong released a new rendition of the song in September, which became an instant hit, riding a wave of nostalgia and patriotism.

The film Me and My Motherland hit theaters on Sept 30, one day before China’s National Day, an anthology of short stories directed by seven directors led by Chen Kaige.

Drawing on historical and key moments since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the seven directors focused on the seemingly distant yet close ties between individuals and the country, aiming to awaken the common memories of Chinese people around the world.

As of Wednesday, the movie’s box office takings exceeded 3 billion yuan ($428 million), ranking 4th in the 2019 box office and becoming the 9th Chinese film to break through the 3 billion yuan threshold.

The hottest character related to international topics was “difficulty”, and the hottest phrase related to international topics in 2019 was “trade frictions”.