China media: US quantitative easing impact played down

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-29844518

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Papers focus on the end of US quantitative easing (QE), with state media dismissing fears it could have a serious negative impact on China's economy.

The US Federal Reserve wound up the stimulus programme - begun in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis - on Wednesday.

The move prompts the overseas edition of the state-run People's Daily newspaper to state that China's economy is "far more stable than other emerging markets and many other developed countries".

"China can still remain in relatively good shape," it insists, while warning that the "risks of social division cannot be ignored.

It also takes the opportunity to blame the West's economic policies for the financial crisis and the pain inflicted on other, smaller, emerging economies.

The view that China will remain unaffected by the end of QE is echoed by the official news agency Xinhua.

"Compared to the more open economies such as Hong Kong and Singapore, the influence of the normalisation of the US monetary policy will be relatively small on China, which has ample ability to deal with the negative impact," the Xinhua News Agency quotes Rhee Changyong, Asia and Pacific director at the IMF, as saying.

An analysis piece in the 21 Century Business Herald comes to the conclusion that the end of QE will not cause a "huge depreciation" of the Chinese yuan (renminbi).

While agreeing with the sanguine mood, other media outlets say far-reaching reform is still needed to strengthen the fundamentals of China's economy, however.

According to the Global Times, China lags behind the US and "has a long way to go to build up its high-end economic capabilities and build financial systems".

"Chasing or passing the US can hardly become a China policy," it adds. "China needs to undergo a tough process to make it stronger."

'Disorderly' web

In other news, state newspapers give their enthusiastic support to government measures for more regulation of the internet.

The moves, announced by Lu Wei, head of the State Internet Information Office, are being cast as part of wider campaign to strengthen the "rule of the law", unveiled by the Communist Party at during a key meeting last week.

The Haiwai Net website says the steps mentioned by Mr Lu "fully reflect the idea of governing the internet with the rule of law".

According to analysts quoted by the overseas edition of the People's Daily, the internet needs more regulation as it "lacks order".

"China has the largest internet population in the world, so it should be able to take the lead in the construction of the international order in cyberspace," Wang Zhenmin, a legal specialist at Tsinghua University, tells the paper.

And finally, papers insist China can keep the Ebola virus at bay, after the scientist who first identified the disease voiced concern about it reaching the world's most populous country.

On Thursday, Professor Peter Piot said an outbreak in China was possible because of the large number of travellers to and from Africa, as well as low infection control standards.

Without directly referring to his remarks, several media outlets highlight the country's effort to check the virus's spread, as well as aid provided by China to affected countries in West Africa.

According to the Global Times, the authorities in the southern city of Guangzhou - which sees a significant number of African expatriates and visitors - are ramping up checks for any suspected Ebola cases.

The paper also points out that the World Health Organization (WHO) has given assurances that "the risk of a serious outbreak of Ebola in China is low".

In contrast, a report in the People's Liberation Army Daily criticises the West's "poor performance" in fighting the disease.

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