China's social financing costs continue to decline in H1: central bank

China's social financing costs continued to decline with an optimized credit structure in the first half of the year, said Zou Lan, Deputy Governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the central bank, on Monday.

Speaking at a press conference in Beijing, Zou attributed these developments to ongoing efforts to enhance market-oriented interest rate regulation, alongside strengthened implementation and supervision of interest rate policies.

"The overall social financing cost remained at a low level. From January to June, the weighted average interest rate on newly issued enterprise loans was approximately 3.3 percent, about 45 basis points lower than the same period last year. The interest rate on newly issued personal housing loans was around 3.1 percent, roughly 60 basis points lower year on year," said Zou.

"In the next phase, the PBOC will continue to apply an appropriately accommodative monetary policy while closely monitoring and evaluating the transmission and effectiveness of previously implemented policies. Taking into account domestic and international economic and financial situation as well as financial market developments, the PBOC will carefully calibrate the intensity and pace of policy implementation to better promote the expansion of domestic demand, stabilize social expectations, stimulate market vitality, and support efforts to achieve this year's economic and social development targets," said Zou.

To implement an appropriately accommodative monetary policy, the PBOC has further reinforced counter-cyclical adjustments, rolling out a package of financial support measures in May, according to Zou.

Moreover, the PBOC has made comprehensive use of various monetary policy tools, such as lowering the reserve requirement ratio and policy interest rates, to maintain ample liquidity and support reasonable growth in money and credit supply, said Zou.

China's social financing costs continue to decline in H1: central bank

Officials from the European Union (EU) and Finland have voiced concerns after the White House said it has been discussing "a range of options" to acquire Greenland, including the use of the military.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told a press briefing in Cairo on Thursday that the message from the U.S. is "extremely concerning," and "not really helping the stability of the world."

Kallas called on all parties to stick to international law, adding that relevant response measures has been discussed among EU members.

"The international law is very clear, and we have to stick to it. It is clear that it is the only thing that protects smaller countries, and that is why it is in the interest of all of us. And we discussed this today, as well, that we uphold the international law on all levels," she said.

Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen on Thursday described recent remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump and members of his administration on Greenland as "worrying," while reiterating Finland's support for Denmark and Greenland's right to self-determination.

"Finland and the other Nordic countries have exceptional expertise in Arctic conditions, and we are happy to make use of that together with our North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies to strengthen Arctic security, but it cannot be done by threatening allies," she said at a press conference at Finnish parliament after an extraordinary meeting of the parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee.

Johannes Koskinen, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said it was "unprecedented" for threats of violence to be made within NATO against another member in connection with seizing territory, adding that such threats run counter to the United Nations Charter and that their inconsistency with international law should be underscored at all levels.

EU, Finnish officials express concerns over US remarks on Greenland