PRE-MARKET CHINESE STOCK NEWS: Chinese House Prices, Industrial Production & Retail Sales Data is Scheduled Today

China Eastern Airlines (670 HK) - Co. reported Apr passenger traffic rose 3.8% Y/Y. (Newswires)China Southern Airlines (1055 HK) - Co. reported Apr load factor fell 0.7ppts Y/Y to 84.9%, passenger traffic rose 2.8% Y/Y and capacity rose 3.7% Y/Y. (Newswires)Metallurgical Corporation of China (1618 HK) - Co. reported Apr YTD new contracts signed fell to CNY 248.0bln (prev. CNY 308.4bln Y/Y). (Newswires)Prudential (2378 HK) - Co. announced a 75% acquisition in Bharti Life Insurance for USD 389mln via internal resources, with initial cash consideration of INR 35.00bln/HKD 2.86bln. (Newswires)Shoucheng Holdings (697 HK) - Co. Q1 (HKD) net fell to 78.5mln (prev. 213mln Y/Y), rev. fell to 327mln (prev. 352mln Y/Y). (Newswires)Standard Chartered (2888 HK) - Co. appointed Manus Costello as Chief Financial Officer and Tanuj Kapilashrami as Chief Operating Officer. (Dow Jones Newsplus/Newswires)TradeUSTR Greer said President Trump will be presented with options for action on China if US investigations determine that industrial overcapacity is influencing Chinese exports. (Newswires)White House released a Fact Sheet on Sunday following last week’s Trump-Xi summit, which stated that China will purchase at least USD 17bln in US agricultural products annually for 2026, 2027 and 2028. (Newswires)China’s MOFCOM said it agreed with the US to set up trade and investment bodies, while it also confirmed that the US had agreed to sell aircraft, aircraft engines and components to China. (WSJ)China’s MOFCOM pushed back against the EU’s use of its Foreign Subsidies Regulation, which followed criticism by its justice ministry that related cross-border probes constituted “improper extraterritorial jurisdiction”. (Newswires)China flagged that Australian beef imports are approaching the safeguard threshold and are at the 80% of the annual quota, which caps imports at current tariff rates, while additional imports would be subject to 55% tariffs on top of existing tariffs three days after shipments reach 100% of the quota. (Newswires)France wants Stellantis (STLA IM) and Renault (RNO FP) to favour local parts suppliers to protect jobs and keep know-how in the region as Europe’s automakers deepen ties with manufacturers from China.Other NewsChinese President Xi and Russian President Putin exchanged congratulatory messages at the opening of the China-Russian Expo in China’s north-eastern city of Harbin, while Putin is to visit China on May 19th-20th. (Newswires)Chinese MIIT Minister Li Lecheng said China should upgrade “outdated” industries, and not scrap them, because manufacturing remains the backbone of the economy. (Newswires)China’s MOFCOM and other departments issued a notice on stepped-up measures to optimise departure tax refunds and boost inbound consumption, while MOFCOM said will expand duty-free tax refund store coverage and encourage more eligible retailers to register as tax refund stores. Furthermore, it will further optimise “buy now, refund now” services and promote cross-region mutual recognition of instant tax refund, as well as stated that from July 1st, Customs will conduct random physical inspections on a certain proportion of tax refund claims for purchases below CNY 10k. (Newswires)China’s State Administration for Market Regulation set 34 priorities for this year to support private sector growth, with a focus on fair competition, legal protections and efficient regulation. (Newswires)Data Recap Hong Kong GDP QQ (Q1 F) 2.9% (Prelim. 2.9%) Hong Kong GDP YY (Q1 F) 5.9% (Prelim. 5.9%)