PRESS DIGEST - China - March 6

BEIJING/SHANGHAI, March 6 (Reuters) - Chinese newspapers available in Beijing and Shanghai carried the following stories on Thursday. Reuters has not checked the stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

CHINA DAILY (www.chinadaily.com.cn)

-- China maintains limited military power only to secure the nation's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and won't pose a threat to any country, said a senior officer of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) on Wednesday.

PEOPLE'S DAILY

-- China's central government has provided 1 billion yuan ($141 million) for repair of irrigation works hit by severe winter weather.

CHINA SECURITIES JOURNAL

-- China's securities regulator is considering reforms to regulations on initial public offerings to favour small investors while promoting share offerings by domestic securities brokerages, said Fan Fuchun, vice chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

-- China's property prices have limited room to fall due to strong demand, but price rises should be modest after surging in the past several years, said an executive at the country's largest developer Vanke 000002.SZ.

-- The listed unit of medium-sized Nanjing Iron and Steel Group (600282.SS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) reported 164 percent growth in its 2007 earnings from a year earlier due to price rises in Chinese steel products